Idyllic: Xin Chai by painter To Ngoc Thanh which is on display at the An Tuong Sa Pa (The Impression of Sa Pa) exhibition in HCM City. — VNS Photo Duc Ngoc.

HCM CITY — Artist To Ngoc Thanh's love for mountainous Sa Pa Town and its people shine through his works which are on display at an exhibition that has opened in HCM City.

Aán Tuong Sa Pa (The Impression of Sa Pa) features 34 acrylic on canvas paintings depicting the peaceful villages and beautiful women of Sa Pa, where he has travelled several times since 2000.

The 71-year-old artist uses greens, yellows, browns, and blues to portray the tranquility of the land in works like Duong Vao Ban (Road to the Village) and Xin Chai.

Nam Co Gai Dao Doû (Five Red Dao Women) and Thieu Nu Dao Do (Red Dao Young Women) dwell on the beauty and charm of the Dao Do (Red Dao) ethnic women in their gorgeous and colourful costumes.

Thanh is a son of the late To Ngoc Van, one of the pioneers of oil painting in the country and best known for his Thieu Nu Ben Hoa Hue (A Girl by Lilies).

He began to learn painting from his father when he was just four.

A graduate of the Viet Nam College of Fine Arts and Czechoslovak University of Fine Arts, Thanh has held several solo and group exhibitions in Viet Nam, Czechoslovakia, the US, France, Japan, Poland, Bulgaria, and Germany.

His works are kept at the National Museum of Viet Nam and the Asia-Pacific Fine Arts Museum in Poland, and collected by international aficionados.

The exhibition, at the Tu Do Art Gallery, 53 Ho Tung Mau Street, will run until September 28. — VNS