The Simultaneity of Emotion

Artist Statement – Nguyễn Đình Long

In my artistic journey, I once experimented with perspective and spatial order.

Yet, the more I pursued them, the more I realized they were not my way.

I am not drawn to the logic of form, but to the simultaneity of emotion –

where space and time dissolve into one another, and where memory and the present breathe together upon a single lacquer surface.

In my paintings, form, line, and contrast are not mere visual devices;

they are the language of inner feeling.

I observe life not through my eyes, but through the quiet resonance within.

Each layer of lacquer applied, then gently polished away,

becomes a conversation with myself – between presence and absence,

light and shadow, reality and remembrance.

Lacquer gives me permission to slow down,

to listen closely to the fragile and the subtle moments of existence.

I choose to simplify the figure to preserve its spirit – the part that feels, not merely appears.

For me,

painting is a return to stillness amid the noise of life.

Each work becomes a silent space,

where the human soul can be seen, shared, and deeply felt.