Who Is Phạm Thủy Tiên?

I. Who Is Phạm Thủy Tiên?

Born in 1997 in Thường Tín, Hanoi, Phạm Thủy Tiên developed a passion for painting from an early age and gradually pursued a professional path in the arts. Coming from a family whose members worked outside the art field, she nevertheless showed a strong passion and particular aptitude for painting from a young age. This passion was further nurtured as she immersed herself in Hanoi’s artistic environment. In an interview with Nhịp sống Hà Nội, the artist shared her view of painting: “Painting is the means through which an artist most truthfully reflects life, their inner world and worldview through form and color.”

At the Vietnam University of Fine Arts, Phạm Thủy Tiên received formal artistic training and gradually established a strong professional foundation. She was one of five outstanding graduates of the university and later completed a Master’s degree, further developing her artistic research and practice.

• Third Prize: Student Exhibition of the Vietnam University of Fine Arts (2018), with “Tĩnh Gia 3”.
• Third Prize: Student Exhibition of the Vietnam University of Fine Arts (2020), with the lacquer work “Bếp của người Nùng”.
• Second Prize: 3rd National Fine Arts Exhibition for Students of Cultural and Arts Training Institutions (2020), with the lacquer work “Không gian mới”.
• Grade C Award: Hanoi Region 1 Fine Arts Exhibition, with the silk painting “Thường nhật”.

II. When Material Becomes Phạm Thủy Tiên’s Language of Storytelling

1. Silk as Seen in the Works Presented in “Quán cô Tiên”

Silk as an artistic medium
 

Silk is a soft, delicate and translucent medium, often creating a sense of lightness and quiet depth in painting. On silk, colors absorb and spread in a distinctive way, allowing images to appear as though they carry a fragile layer of memory. For Phạm Thủy Tiên, these qualities became a starting point for telling stories about everyday life in Hanoi.

The name “Quán cô Tiên” evokes an everyday space where stories of people and the city come together. Beginning with the image of a small eatery, the work expands into a perspective on Hanoi at a particular moment, when activities that once seemed entirely ordinary became memorable experiences.

2. Dó Paper in “Cuộc dạo chơi của các nàng tiên”

What is particularly notable is the artist’s approach to heritage. Folk imagery remains a point of departure before being placed within a new visual space. Phạm Thủy Tiên is interested in how cultural symbols can continue to live beyond their original context, allowing them to be revisited through the sensibilities of a contemporary generation.

Here, dó paper creates a connection between material and cultural memory. Its handcrafted surface gives the images the feeling of being placed upon a layer of time, while printmaking ink and acrylic introduce a shift in visual language. Tradition therefore appears alongside a new perspective rather than being simply reproduced.

Through “Cuộc dạo chơi của các nàng tiên”, Phạm Thủy Tiên places familiar elements of Vietnamese folk culture in conversation with the present. Dó paper becomes a point of encounter between traces of traditional culture and the perspective of a contemporary generation, where material, imagery and contemporary visual language open up a new approach to heritage.

III. From Anmira Hội An to “Hoài Phố Cảm Tác” – When Hội An Becomes a Source of Artistic Inspiration

In May 2026, Phạm Thủy Tiên joined three other young artists in an artist residency at Anmira Hội An – Village of Arts and Culture. During this period, she came closer to the life of Hội An through visits to craft villages, encounters with artisans, and hours spent observing the local landscape, architecture and rhythms of daily life.

Through these direct experiences, Phạm Thủy Tiên began documenting Hội An through painting. The images encountered throughout her residency were absorbed through her personal perspective and subsequently transformed into oil paintings. For her, the landscape and everyday life of Hội An became starting points for a deeper observation of memory, people and the vitality of a culturally rich place.

What distinguishes the works created at Anmira Hội An is the artist’s approach to the city through direct experience. Rather than seeking an iconic image of Hội An, she pays attention to details found in everyday life and to the impressions formed through staying, observing and interacting with the space. Through this process, Hội An emerges through a personal lens, where landscape, people and traces of culture come together to shape a visual narrative.

• Dates: 12 September – 30 September 2026
• Venue: LAM Kitchen, Anmira Hội An – Village of Arts and Culture
• Address: 276 Cửa Đại Street, Hội An Đông Ward, Đà Nẵng
• Participating artists: Phạm Thủy Tiên, Một Quả Tắc, Lâm Gia Huấn and Phan Anh Thư
• About the exhibition: Presenting works created through the artist residency programme in Hội An, offering four distinct perspectives on the landscapes, everyday life and cultural layers of Hoài Phố.
• Admission: Free entry.

FAQ

1. Who is Phạm Thủy Tiên?

2. What artistic style does Phạm Thủy Tiên pursue?

3. What are some of Phạm Thủy Tiên’s notable works?

4. What experiences did Phạm Thủy Tiên have at Anmira Hội An?

5. Where can I see Phạm Thủy Tiên’s works at Anmira?

6. What is the meaning behind Anmira Hội An Village of Arts & Culture’s transformation and new name?