ARTIST VU MANH TAN
Born July 3, 1975)

Vu Manh Tan was born in Doan Xa village, Hong Phong commune, Dong Trieu town, Quang Ninh province. He graduated from Hanoi University of Industrial Fine Arts in 1997—an institution known as a cradle for many generations of influential Vietnamese artists and designers.

After leaving university, he did not immediately pursue a purely artistic path. With an open-minded outlook, keen adaptability, and strong foreign-language skills, Vu Manh Tan shifted into the tourism industry, working as a tour guide and later as a tour leader, leading international groups across Vietnam and the Indochina region. These years of constant travel enriched him with profound life experiences: regional landscapes, rhythms of daily life, cultural encounters, and quiet human emotions—all of which accumulated like layers of sediment, forming a deep foundation for his later artistic journey.

The year 2007 marked an important milestone when he became one of the founding shareholders of Viet Vision Travel and Nguyen Art Gallery, balancing dual roles as both entrepreneur and artist. During this period, despite the demands of business, Vu Manh Tan persistently maintained his painting practice. He was also the founder of the Swan cruise brand in Ha Long, personally involved in conceptual design and the construction of numerous cruise vessels bearing a distinctive aesthetic identity, contributing to a more refined vision of tourism spaces within the heritage bay.

Following the disruptions of the Covid-19 pandemic, from 2019 onward, Vu Manh Tan formally returned to visual art with renewed focus and professionalism. He left Hanoi and returned to Dong Trieu—his place of origin—to live and create. There, he established PaddyHome, a lodging and creative space designed by himself, embodying his personal spirit and reflecting a harmonious dialogue between art, architecture, and nature.

Today, most of Vu Manh Tan’s works are created in Dong Trieu. His painting bears the imprint of a layered life journey: the inner stillness shaped by years of movement, and the mature perspective of an artist who has navigated multiple roles and cultural spaces. His works are not loud or declarative; instead, they quietly open breathing spaces—where emotions, memories, and lived experiences are distilled into form, color, and rhythm.

SELECTED ARTISTIC ACTIVITIES

“Threshold of the Century” Group Exhibition (2019) – Dai Nhien Art Center

Hoi Chu Group Exhibition (2020) – Dai Nhien Art Center

Spring Group Exhibition (2021) – Dai Nhien Art Center

Spring Hoi Chu Group Exhibition (2022) – Dai Nhien Art Center

Hoi Chu Group Exhibition (2023) – Dai Nhien Art Center

“New Sunshine” Group Exhibition (2024) – Hanoi Art Center, 16 Ngo Quyen Street

Spring Art Festival Group Exhibition – Eteu Gallery, River Park Ecopark, Hanoi

Participant in the international art residency, exhibition, and exchange program HANOI ART HAND (2024)

Participant in the international art residency, exhibition, and exchange program Etugen, Arkhangai Province, Mongolia (2025)