Down To Street II — Pham Binh Chuong

Entitled "Down to Streets", his new collection includes the 20 pieces of work that he painted during 2006 - 2007, and reflects his new look at love and life. "Yes, I want to go down to the streets of the city I love. Sharing my love of the city with millions of strangers will make me love it more" he said, trying to sum up the reason why the new collection was born. Buts even with his newly found willingness to share, he still seems to be reluctant. In his new paintings, he focused, in a slow and tranquil way, on 'the moments of Hanoi seasons and lights'. An old tile roof in a winter day; a rotten steel gate; a dark staircase leading down to a small yard; a quite tea shop on the pavement or an empty street corner... All in all, bit in bit, he shares, both willingly and reluctantly, with the viewers the very images that has been haunting him since his childhood.
 
We can hardly see people in Chuong's new collection, but we can always feel the whispers in his paintings. We can see him --- resting his bike against the bread vendor. Chuong puts his life and himself in his paintings because while he wants to share his eternal city with people, he also wants to guard it, as if he the molded wall; waiting for someone in front of an open gate; talking to the barber; caressing his dog or listening the shouts of ears something bad will destroy it and take it away from him. That lingering fear out of passion and love makes us love his paintings.
 
Duong Thu Hang - Hanoi Studio