Biography

1974 – Tran Thao Hien (full name: Tran Thi Thao Hien) was born in Hanoi, Vietnam.

1996 – She graduated from the Russian State Geological Prospecting University (Moscow), Department of Economics.

2007 – She started taking art classes from artist and teacher Yelena Afanasieva, an instructor of painting master-classes and leader

of the International Women’s Club (IWC) watercolor group since 1996

2009 – She began to participate in exhibitions.

2014 – She became a member of the Creative Union of Professional Artists of Russia.

2020 – She became a member of the Creative Union of Artists of Russia.

2021 – She became a Honorable Member of the International Academy of Contemporary Arts of Russia

She lives both in Moscow (Russia) and Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam).

Participation in Exhibitions:

• 2009

- 1st Moscow International Plein-Air of Graphic Artists

- Diploma «For Professionalism and Contribution to Art» from the International Academy of Art and Culture, Museon, Moscow, Russia

- Medal of Honor “For the Benefit of Life on Earth” awarded by the «Kind People of the World» organization of the charitable foundation “Patrons of the Century,” Moscow, Russia

• 2010

- Anniversary art exhibition «Coming Back to the Future» in honor of the 20th Anniversary of the artistic workshop «Sintel Radunitsa», Moscow State Museum of Folk Graphics, Moscow, Russia

- International exhibition «Russian Art Week», Central House of Artists, Moscow, Russia

• 2012

- International project «Identification: I. We. They», Rostov Regional Museum of Arts, Rostov-on-Don, Russia

• 2013

- International project «Identification: I. We. They,» Moscow State Museum of Folk Graphics, Moscow, Russia

• 2014

- International project «Inomeria», Dresden Gallery, Moscow, Russia

- Exhibition of the studio of Oleg Goremykin, International Foundation of Slavic Writing and Culture, Ardena Gallery, Moscow, Russia

• 2015

- Solo exhibition «The Color of Inspiration», Central House of Artists, Moscow, Russia

- Exhibition «Realism and Naïvety – Crossing Roads», ARTPLAY Design Center, Moscow, Russia

- Exhibition «Traveling from Vietnam to Russia», Central House of Artists, Moscow, Russia

• 2016

- Third Prize, «International Portrait Competition» exhibition, Central House of Artists, Moscow, Russia

- Exhibition «Moscow – Point of Intersection», Gallery Na Novinskom, Moscow, Russia

- Diploma for genre scene at the «Moscow Seasons» exhibition, Central House of Artists, Moscow, Russia

- Exhibition «Hush, Mice, the Cat is on the Roof, and the Kittens Are Even Higher», State Darwin Museum, Moscow, Russia

- International art exhibition «Contemporary Dialogue», Crown Plaza, Hanoi, Vietnam

• 2017

- 2nd international art exhibition «Indonesia - Vietnam», Convention Exhibition BSD City, South Tangerang, Indonesia

- International art exhibition «Art – Idea», Dresden Gallery, Moscow, Russia

• 2018

- Exhibition of works by artists of the «Alter Ego» art group, Central House of Artists, Moscow, Russia

- Exhibition «Serbia from the Palettes of Russian Artists», Embassy of Serbia, Moscow, Russia

- «Exhibition of Fine Arts of Vietnam 2018», Fine Arts Museum, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

- Exhibition «Sin Suoi Ho», Intercontinental Hanoi Landmark72, Hanoi, Vietnam

• 2019

- Exhibition of works by artists of the «Alter Ego» art group, Central House of Artists, Moscow, Russia

- «Exhibition of Fine Arts of Vietnam 2019», Fine Arts Museum, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

- Exhibition «Serbia from the Palettes of Russian Artists», «Ozerov’s House» Cultural Center, Kolomna, Russia

- Exhibition «Fine Art for a Peaceful World», Limanjawl Art House, Borobudur, Indonesia

- Exhibition «Saigon Art Show 2019», D.A.N studio, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

• 2020

- International online art exhibition «The Artist for Artists», Dhauli College of Arts and Crafts, Bhubaneswar, India

- International online art exhibition «In the Name of Love for Art» Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Aizawl, India

- Exhibition «New Reality», Museum-Exhibition Association «The Central Hall of the Russian Artists Union», New Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia

- First Prize, exhibition «ARTSTART WITHOUT BORDERS», Art Deco Museum, Moscow, Russia

- Laureate, International art project «I am Russia», Tushino Exhibition Hall, Moscow, Russia

- Bronze medal (professional graphics), AEA 2020 international competition «Art. Perfection. Recognition», International Academy of Contemporary Arts, Moscow, Russia

- 28th International contemporary art exhibition «Russian Art Week», Danilovsky Exhibition Center, Moscow, Russia

• 2021

- Second Prize, International art festival «Abstractum», «Gostiny Dvor» Exhibition Center, Moscow, Russia

- Exhibition ANTIBIENNALE VI, Antique Center, Moscow, Russia

- Gold medal (professional painting), AEA 2021 international competition «Art. Perfection. Recognition» International Academy of Contemporary Arts, Moscow, Russia

- Festival «ARTSUMMER, Moscow, XXI century”, Museum-Exhibition Association «The Central Hall of the Russian Artists Union», New Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow, Russia

- Personal exhibition «Color, light, line», Gallery «Promgrafika», Moscow, Russia

 

The artists’ works are owned by Park Gorkogo museum in Moscow, Russia and kept in private collections in America, France, Morocco,

Korea, Russia, Vietnam, etc.

tranthaohien98@gmail.com

http://art-hien.com/

https://www.facebook.com/TranThaoHienArt

In my opinion, everything in this world has its own soul 

When I attempt a new painting, I always ask myself the question: “Why?” I sit for quite a while, and only pick up the brush when I am totally convinced that I must create this painting. I love to discover new rhythms of emotional thinking and new color schemes. 

I feel love and affection toward the objects I choose to portray in my works. In this excited mood, I mix the paints, overwhelmed with a passion to create a totally new thing. I am ready to challenge myself, to check whether I can convey in my new work all of the beauty of nature and life.

Like a mountain climber crazy about conquering a peak, I am drawn to the act of painting, which allows me to express brand new feelings! Deep inside, I am stirred by the colors, and I need to use them in my painting … to invent new combinations ...

I am absolutely happy in the world of fine art, which makes it possible for me to escape from the real world. What a gift this is – the amazing feeling of total freedom!

The paints make it happen. At the end of the day, I would like my paintings to bring love, joy, and happiness to everyone.

"The artist should not only paint what he sees before himself, but also what he sees within himself." - Caspar David Friedrich 

To paint means to be honest with yourself, honest enough to convey your true feelings about a landscape in front of you; travelling to another world, you take your soul with you in order to be your own self. In this new world you are free to portray virtually anything the way it is, because that's the way you honestly see it.

Artists get inspiration to paint from what moves them.  We are all different in this world, and we are inspired by different things. Some pictures can make people happy; each new day promises a discovery. 

Drawing can help you shift the focus from everyday life, with its unsolvable problems, to a much better world – of free creation, with unlimited opportunities.

Drawing is a life experience. When I look at each painting, I remember the day I made it. This is like my life journal. I prefer to use bright and cheerful colors – in doing so, I charge my artwork with positive energy.

Personally, I believe that each thing in this small world has a soul and a life of its own, and all are linked to each other.

When you attempt a new painting, you are similar to a composer – who has just the seven notes.  Go ahead, make a melody. Here's your canvas, artist, and your paint palette – create your own poetic world. Indeed, for me painting is like writing a love song. 

“As music is the poetry of sound, so is painting the poetry of sight.” – James McNeill Whistler

Tran Thao Hien

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Look Inside Yourself — About Tran Thao Hien’s Painting

«Precision and laconicism are the primary merits of her works of art. You won’t see any strain or any predetermination in her art. The lyrical nature of her gift is obvious. She never resorts to elaborate story-tell ing or exuberant ornamental effects. On the surface her painting is humble and subdued, and requires inner concentration from the viewer – with a certain spiritual balance and harmony needed to enter the profound, thoughtfully contemplative world of the artist’s images. Kant called such a process “intellectual contemplation.” We are used to judging a gift by its richness, flamboyancy or originality, yet each gift is unique and can differ from all others by the “tool of knowledge” it has been given. I wil l try to express this through a metaphor: of all possible optical devices one might be given, Tran Thao Hien was given a mirror, and not an ordinary one but a mirror that reflects – and even magnifies – everything that happens in her soul. So by looking intently into this mirror, she creates her artworks. She has discerned a whole world inside herself, full of sublime and pure feelings. Her stylistic individuality – style, manner, personal touch – come from deep inside the artist’s awareness, from its very bottom. Her gift is organic, distinct, poetic and pristine. Her art is her spiritual world, the unfolding of her own self; it is her own worldview, her personal experience, the only thing she finds exciting. Her world is conceptual; it is not so much a product of contemplation as of thinking. If it is presented as an amazing sight, then it is a sight of speculative fantasy. Despite the simplicity and the ease of execution from a naive point of view, her works have certain magic about them and leave you mesmerized…»

 Grigory Klimovitsky, art critic

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She has never stopped discovery and creation of beauty!

Tran Thao Hien is known for her passionate and faithful love of plants, flowers, and fruit. She has painted many beautiful, charming, sensitive still lifes using various painting techniques, but overall her painting tends toward an expressive decorative style.

Objects in Thao Hien’s creations are often portrayed with special characteristics, highlighted by simple shapes, plastic, natural, and filled with details; her works inspire with their colors. Each of her paintings is a distinct image and feeling. Her works are quite diverse – the style might be plain, deep, celebratory, light, or tender; or it might be daring or passionate. Executed in any of these styles, the paintings of Thao Hien always feature something interesting and original. Since starting to work with a brush many years ago, she has never stopped on her path of discovery and creation of beauty. Hien has never been satisfied with only one particular style, although she has found a means to express her individuality and temperament. She is like a child walking through multicolored pebbles on the beach, continuously picking up beautiful stones without deciding which one she likes the most. Tran Thao Hien will probably never stop. I believe that she will continue to carry youthful and passionate love within herself on her journey to beauty, along the personal road which is always filled by the flowers and fruit characteristic only of her. 

 Painter Nguyen Dang Hiep

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Tran Thao Hien’s paintings invariably inspire the audience!

Whether using oil paints, pastels, watercolours or even occasional monotypes, she is amazingly consistent in finding her own way to handle it. She uses combinations of rich intense colours which glow with light. Never boring, her paintings irradiate vitality,  freshnessness of perception and youthful energy. Like youth itself, they are filled with hope, love and joy.

The brilliant greens strike a keynote in many of her paintings. Coupled with complementary yellows, blues and oranges, they are perceived as a gift of refreshing energy on a hot summer day. This energy is as fresh and pure as a love for life.

Most of her paintings are as gentle as the author’s name itself. The subjects of her works appeal to the tastes of ordinary people - an approach that works well for the author who is still on the way to mastery - specifically in terms of drawing, notoriously crucial for realistic painting. What definitely outweighs possible small imperfections in Hien's works is her beautiful colour technique, which is definitely her strong point.

Her soft, slow brushstrokes enchant the viewer like people's whispers - they can't help smiling while looking at the painting and can hardly avert the gaze. This is a precious and unique gift that an artist can have, and this is something that Tran Thao Hien’s  can be proud of.

Interestingly, her use of colours is always meaningful and it can tell a story - sometimes, even from an international perspective. When we spot soft warm colours in her landscapes we can guess that she has lived and trained in Russia, with its fantastic art history which positively impacted her style as well.

Incidentally, when she was back to Vietnam, her paintings acquired a cooler touch, with the grass greens and sunshine yellows of her still lifes reflecting Hien’s thurst for life. This natural healthy feeling is inherent to her artwork, and allows life to flow naturally as she applies colour on canvas.

Congratulations to Tran Thao Hien on her major accomplishment - a strong and attractive individuality, a most precious asset and something to be proud of - even for an experienced artist.

I believe the future holds great promise for Tran Thao Hien.

Painter Do Duc

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Tran Thao Hien is a painter of simple beauty, intense emotions and passionate love

To create  a beautiful painting, an artist’s love is all-important. Technique only  truly matters  when the painter  manages to convey honesty to their  audience. After all, truth is what forges  the style and narrative of a piece.

Tran Thao Hien is neither an Impressionist nor Abstractionist – rather, she is a painter of simple, beautiful, intense and passionate images. As such, her paintings reasonate with many through their feminine style, gentle, young án fresh colors, and bold, adventurous lines.

Prof. Dr. Trinh Quoc Thang

Member of Vietnam Writers’ Association