Brushstrokes Preserving Da Lat’s Flower Streets and Highland Horses

Born Phan Quang Vinh in 1972 in Nha Trang, Giang Phong is a member of the Lam Dong Literature and Arts Association and head of the Bao Loc Calligraphy and Painting Club. Since beginning his artistic journey in 1999, he has held six solo exhibitions spanning calligraphy and painting, including Da Lat Pho (Da Lat Streets) in 2024 and Wind-Worn Hoofbeats in 2026, alongside eight group exhibitions nationwide. Whether through calligraphy or canvas, his practice reflects a search for inner stillness and spiritual values.

The imprint of “Da Lat Streets”

Giang Phong moved from coastal Nha Trang to study at Da Lat University in 1991. Six formative years among pine forests, flowers and misty hills shaped his artistic sensibility. Traveling through the city’s alleys with photographers deepened his attachment to Da Lat, which he now considers a second hometown.

After graduation, he worked in journalism and photography in Ho Chi Minh City, yet painting remained an enduring passion. His first Da Lat landscape — featuring Da Lat University — was created in 2000. Over time, moss-covered villas, sloping rooftops and youthful memories transformed into bold strokes and vibrant color fields, while Da Lat’s flowers, architecture and people became inexhaustible sources of inspiration.

Despite living between Ho Chi Minh City and Bao Loc, the artist consistently returned to Da Lat as his central theme. A 2014 exhibition celebrating flowers and young women during the city’s Flower Festival drew attention, followed by the 2024 Da Lat Pho exhibition featuring 50 paintings completed over nearly two years. Displayed amid pine forests, the works captured villas, blossoms and streets through a deeply personal lens.

Giang Phong’s style is marked by expressive lines and daring use of warm tones — oranges, reds and yellows — that refresh the cool, misty atmosphere typically associated with Da Lat. Art enthusiasts often note his unconventional palette. Viewer Tran Minh Quan observed that the intense warm colors create a strong visual impact, yet feel increasingly harmonious as emotion guides perception.

Nguyen Thi Huyen Dieu, Vice Chairwoman of the Lam Dong Literature and Arts Association, described Giang Phong as a dedicated artist whose works carry both aesthetic appeal and conceptual depth, reflecting independent creative thinking and professional maturity.

Horses in motion and memory

Recently, Giang Phong presented Wind-Worn Hoofbeats at Cadasa Resort, a venue framed by blooming cherry blossoms. Through 20 works, he explored the symbolic figure of the horse — strength, pride, freedom and solitude amid highland landscapes. The collection ranges from quick field sketches to large oil paintings refined during long nights beside a fireplace.

Each canvas offers a distinct emotional tone: solitary horses standing in misty valleys, herds racing through cold winds, silent pairs galloping side by side, or animals pausing by lakes and whispering pines. Dawn’s violet glow and the pale gold of dusk appear as recurring backdrops, evoking both motion and introspection.

The artist’s studio sits at Thien Phuoc Pagoda at the foot of Lang Biang Mountain, surrounded by forest and drifting fog. Local horse handlers often bring mountain horses for him to sketch, allowing hours of quiet observation. From chestnut and white to grey and rose-hued coats, each animal becomes a new emotional study. Viewer Le Thuy Duong noted that the horses seem not merely to run, but to reflect — as if striving to overcome mist and wind, with color amplifying their inner life.

After years of traveling, Giang Phong’s return to Da Lat appears to mark a spiritual anchoring point. From Da Lat Pho to Wind-Worn Hoofbeats, from calligraphy to painting, his journey remains one of constant movement — a pursuit of beauty shaped by memory, landscape and the enduring spirit of the highlands.