In love with Vietnam

Russian artists portray Vietnamese culture

Russian artists Plotnikov Evgraf Evgenievich and Shageeve Rita brought art lovers a sense of their love for the country and people of Vietnam through their paintings.
Plotnikov Evgraf Evgenievich and Shageeve Rita currently work as architects after graduating from renowned St. Petersburg State Academic Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. They have had five private exhibitions with the theme of houses. They also participated in other exhibitions with artists in Russia.

According to artist Plotnikov Evgraf Evgenievich, the two artists’ relationship with Vietnam came about when they put their work aside to travel and chose Vietnam as their first destination in Asia.

“We are artists and passionate about drawing. When we traveled to Da Nang and Hoi An for a month, we drew from real life and the warm and hospitable people there. In Hanoi, we do not have much time to travel, so we mostly take photos and then draw from them,” said artist Shageeve Rita.



The Russian artists’ painting class for young art lovers on Trinh Cong Son walking street in Hanoi. 


Students are taught the basic techniques of composition and color schemes.


Artist Plotnikov Evgraf Evgenievich with his canvas in the class. 


A young girl is taught how to measure the composition ratio in a painting.  


Despite the language barrier, Plotnikov Evgraf Evgenievich tries to deliver his message to young learners. 


Plotnikov Evgraf Evgenievich helps students in every stage to finish their art. 


Students with their paintings.


The Russian artists’ class attracts many young art lovers.  

For nearly two months in Vietnam, Plotnikov Evgraf Evgenievich and Shageeve Rita have been organizing an exhibition of 30 artworks on the three cities of Hanoi, Da Nang and Hoi An, and 15 pieces on architectural structures in Russia. Their paintings, made of acrylic, tempera and lead material, which have a wide and harmonious layout, show unique perspectives on the life and people of Vietnam. The two artists have a diverse and unique selection of colors so their landscape paintings are deep while their paintings of people are warm and cheerful.

Nguyen Thi Hoang Lan, owner of Lilac gallery, said: “I lived and studied for nearly ten years in Russia, so I want to open a gallery to gather contemporary Russian artists doing different types of paintings. Russian artists have the opportunity to come to Vietnam to learn about the country and its people, and the Vietnamese people have the opportunity to better understand Russian paintings and people.”

Not only do the two artists hold exhibition about Vietnam, they also offer painting classes including watercolor and pencil art lessons for young Vietnamese. Despite the language barrier, the teachers tried to teach young people the basic techniques of composition and color schemes.


Paintings by the Russian artists on display:











Story: Ngan Ha - Photos: Khanh Long

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