36-year-old Vietnamese artist Hoang Phong fell in love with Hanoi ever since his first visit in 2017. Although this is his first-ever exhibition in Hanoi, Phong shared that his Hanoi-inspired paintings reached art lovers in many different ways over the past few years.

In 2020, Phong's paintings made the cover of the two-volume book collection "Chuyen Cu Ha Noi" (Hanoi's Old Stories) by Kim Dong Publishing House. The book collection was published on the occasion of the 100th birthday of legendary book author To Hoai.

One of 54 paintings exhibited at the exhibition "A Little Love for the City" in Hanoi (Photo: Nhung Nguyen).

Phong believed what brought him to Hanoi was curiosity but then he kept coming back to Hanoi many times over the past few years as if to visit a dear friend.

When he first visited, he was fascinated by the way the ancient values are preserved in the architecture and the lifestyle. For each visit, he was constantly on the road to look for inspiration in street corners, or relics and houses. The artist's curiosity gradually turned to inspiration. Even after returning to Saigon, he still pictures himself sitting in a small cafe on the Dinh Tien Hoang Street corner and painting the streets of the capital city passionately.

"I am a realist artist. To create the most realistic paintings, I came back to Hanoi many times to capture photos or materials to enrich the references. Then I created my interpretation of the sceneries, using both my memories and the references," said the Saigonese artist.

When Phong shared his artworks on online art forums or on social media, many people were moved by the artist' interesting love story with Hanoi. "A Little Love for the City" by Hoang Phong also attracted great attention because it was exhibited on the occasion of the 69th anniversary of Hanoi's Liberation Day (October 10/1954- 2023). This is the ideal time to admire the beautiful creations while reminiscing about Hanoi of the old days.

Some of the captures at the exhibition:

The Old Quarter is a popular themes in Hoang Phong's paintings (Photo: Nhung Nguyen).

Many Hanoi's architects are a mix of old and new styles (Photo: Nhung Nguyen).

The month of October is the ideal time to admire the beautiful creations while remincising about Hanoi of the old days (Photo: Nhung Nguyen).

(Photo: Nhung Nguyen).

The exibition is located in the center of Hanoi, which attracts many visitors (Photo: Nhung Nguyen).

Hanoi's iconic relics were portrayed in Phong's paintings (Photo: Nhung Nguyen).

(Photo: Nhung Nguyen).

Trung Vuong Secondary School (Photo: Nhung Nguyen).

Saigon-based artist Hoang Phong at the opening ceremony of the exhibition (Photo: Me Tranh). "A Little Love for the City" - a watercolor painting exhibition organized by Saigon-based artist Hoang Phong together with the Management Board of Hoan Kiem Lake and Hanoi Old Quarter. From October 10- 29, the exhibition displays the ancient beauty of Hanoi through 54 paintings, included in a set of 100 watercolor paintings about Hanoi Hoang Phong.

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