Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, 05 September 2025 – From 04 to 10 September 2025, Hôtel des Arts Saigon in collaboration with Lotus Gallery presents the exhibition ‘Hạt Nở Đồng Hoa’ – ‘Pigment in Bloom’ at the hotel’s ground floor space. The exhibition is part of the global MGallery Heritage Days, a series taking the inspiration from Europe’s annual Heritage Days held every September. During this time frame, MGallery hotels worldwide will host a range of activities such as displays, exhibitions, and guided tours, welcoming the public to explore the culture, art, and heritage of each property and its local community-deepening appreciation for the value of heritage in today’s world.

Đọc phiên bản Tiếng Việt của bài viết.

‘Hạt Nở Đồng Hoa’ is dedicated to the medium of gouache, a material that once played a foundational role in modern Vietnamese fine arts, particularly during the teaching years of the L’Ecole des Beaux-Arts de l’Indochine (1925-1945).

Gouache is a water-based medium made from pigment, binder (usually glue), and a small amount of chalk, with the unique characteristic of drying almost instantly on paper and leaving behind a matte surface with rich, velvety tones. Its colors are dense yet luminous, producing bold, precise marks while retaining a sense of vibrancy.

Thanks to its quick-drying quality, gouache served both as a practical tool for teaching and as a medium for sketching, allowing artists to capture fleeting rhythms of everyday life with immediacy and intimacy, without elaborate preparation. Affordable, durable, and suited to Vietnam’s humid climate, it quickly became a favored material among artists of the time.

The exhibition features works primarily by artists born in the 1990s, including Bui Ngoc Tu, Truong Dinh Hao, and Tran Nguyen Dan. For this generation, images of Vietnam before the wave of urbanization – the image of traditional festivals, thatched-roof houses and children’s folk games – remain vivid, familiar imprints in their artistic vision.

This showcase, therefore, is not about presenting something new. Rather, it is a gentle reminder of a medium that once carried deep significance in the story of Vietnamese art, now resurfacing as a bridge to emotions long placed in the background.

On coarse, textured paper layered with gouache, these fragments are captured with agility and expression, as if to hold onto things gradually fading amid the relentless flow of change.

This exhibition, therefore, is not about novelty, but rather a reminder of a material that was once an important part of the course of Vietnamese Fine Arts. And now, it evokes layers of emotions that have receded into the background.

The exhibition ‘Hạt Nở Đồng Hoa’ will be open free for all visitors from 09:00 AM to 06:00 PM throughout 04 to 10 September 2025, at Café des Beaux-Arts on the ground floor of Hôtel des Arts Saigon (76-78 Nguyen Thi Minh Khai, Xuan Hoa Ward, Ho Chi Minh City).

ABOUT HÔTEL DES ARTS SAIGON, MGALLERY

Hôtel des Arts Saigon, a member of the MGallery Collection, is a refined fusion of art, style and local culture in the heart of Ho Chi Minh City. Blending the classical charm of “Indochine Française” with the timeless elegance that defines MGallery, this boutique hotel is the perfect choice for travelers seeking a destination rich in local character. Stepping into Hôtel des Arts Saigon is like entering a romantic world of a bygone era, where classical charm and modern sophistication meet in every detail.

Press Contact
Ngô Xuân Thu – Director of Marketing & Communications
xuanthu.ngo@accor.com | 0906 569 676

ABOUT LOTUS GALLERY

Established in 1991, Lotus Gallery is one of the very first private galleries opened in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. With more than 30 years of experience, the gallery has represented primary works across all media including painting, drawing, sculpture, installation, and photography, seeking to cultivate the lineages that run between emerging and established Vietnamese as well as South East Asian artists. Since its inception, Lotus Gallery has held hundreds of both domestic and international exhibitions. Not only that, the gallery has been committed to working with and advising artists on all aspects of their career and legacy planning.

Press Contact
Katty Vi Do – Operations Manager
kattyvido@lotusgallery.com | 0985 795 643