Self-Portrait
Oil on Canvas
Pham Luan was born in 1954 in Hanoi, Vietnam. From a young age, he enjoyed painting and drawing whenever he had free time. He taught himself using "Buoc Dau Hoc Ve" - a drawing and painting manual by Vietnamese master Nguyen Van Ty.
Luan wanted to study arts at university. But in 1972, war was raging in Vietnam. His parents didn't want him to travel the long distance to the Art University every day. Respecting their wishes, he went to the Hanoi Teacher's Training College instead. In his first year, he was called to fulfill his obligatory military service.
In the army, Luan stayed in Thanh Hoa province, among Muong ethnic people. He continued with his art despite the hardship of wartime. He sketched the trees, the river, the rice fields, and the house on stilts. He painted with pencil, chalk, and anything he could use. He expressed what he saw and experienced through his drawings.
Pham Luan finished his military service in May 1975 and returned to his studies. After graduation, Luan taugh technical drawings at a college just outside of Hanoi. He also continued painting. He sold his first painting in 1983. Ambassadors in Hanoi took notice of his work and started collecting.
In 1990, Pham Luan decided to stop teaching and to work full time as a painter. He wanted to focus on a solo exhibition. A year later, Luan had his first-ever solo show "Hanoi - 36 Streets". The national TV station filmed a ten-minute feature on him and his paintings after the success of this exhibition.
His second exhibition was in 1994 when Luan turned 40. This show attracted both local and international interest. Shirley Hui, co-owner of Galerie La Vong (Hong Kong), saw his exhibition on the last day of her visit in Hanoi. She returned the next week with her partners to ask him to be one of their artists.
Pham Luan had his first solo exhibition overseas in 1997 with Galerie La Vong. SInce then, he's had many exhibitions in Hong Kong, Singapore, London, New York, and Chicago. He's appeared in Hong Kong Tatler, Asia Art News, and South China Morning Post.
Luan's works are in the collection of the Vietnam Fine Art Museum and the National Assembly House. His paintings are also in the private collection of HRH The Duke of York. Luan has many collectors from the US, the UK, France, Germany, Hong Kong, and Singapore.