Development, Influence, Artistic Style

Pham Luan was born in 1954 in Hanoi, Vietnam. From a young age he enjoyed drawing and painting so much that he taught himself using Buoc Dau Hoc Ve - a drawing and painting manual by Vietnamese master Nguyen Van Ty. Pham Luan wanted to pursue his art dream by entering the Art University. At that time however, war was raging in Vietnam, and his parents, fearful of the dangers of war, did not want him to travel the long distance to the Art University every day. Ever respectful of their wishes he went to the Hanoi Teacher’s Training College instead. In 1972 during his first year in college, he was called to fulfil his obligatory military service.

Pham Luan’s time in the army saw him travelling to Thanh Hoa province in Vietnam, staying with Muong ethnic people in houses on stilts. During this time Luan continued to sketch and paint despite the hardship during wartime. He loved to record what he saw and experienced through watercolour sketches. Pham Luan’s military service ended in May 1975 and afterwards he came back to continue with his studies. After graduation Luan worked as a teacher of technical drawings. This job however, did not stop him from continuing with his art.

In 1990 Pham Luan decided to stop teaching and work full time as a painter in preparation for his first ever solo exhibition in 1991, entitled “Hanoi – 36 streets”. He had his first exhibition abroad at the Galerie La Vong in Hong Kong in 1997. Since then Pham Luan’s paintings have been showcased in many exhibitions in many cities and countries abroad such as Hong Kong, Singapore, London, New York and Chicago.

Although he paints a variety of subjects, Pham Luan always returns to the subject of Hanoi, with its scenic location on the banks of the Red River, its lakes and ponds, the clarity of light, verdant greenery, elegant French architecture, and the wealth of its own culture. He brings back the old days into his mind when he was walking around with his parents in the old streets of Hanoi. Pham Luan selects the right moment to convey the emotional impact he feels. His paintings make a connection with those who view them, creating amazement and admiration. Engaging Pham Luan’s paintings is like reading a poem.

For his earlier exhibitions Pham Luan worked with both gouache and oil paint. As a medium, Pham Luan finds gouache versatile and expressive but because of the different methods required for oil and gouache, he decided to specialise in oil.
Over the years, art lovers worldwide have been steadily collecting Pham Luan`s paintings in the USA, UK, France, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Hong Kong, Singapore, and notably the private collections of HRH The Duke of York.

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