Year of the Horse celebrated at Hanoi spring art exhibition
A Lunar New Year highlight in Hanoi’s Old Quarter invites travelers to experience Vietnam’s springtime spirit through art, heritage and the enduring symbolism of the horse.
THE HANOI TIMES — Hanoi is ushering in the Year of the Horse with an art exhibition titled “Spring Colors of the Year of the Horse 2026” in the heart of the Old Quarter.
The exhibition’s striking backdrop, anchored by a lacquer painting by artist Do Duc. Photo: Tina Do
Opened at the Hoan Kiem Cultural Information Center, just steps from Hoan Kiem Lake, the exhibition adds color and artistic energy to the Lunar New Year celebrations.
Running from January 22 to March 11, the exhibition offers both residents and visitors a cultural stop during Vietnam’s most festive season.
Organized by the Hoan Kiem Lake and Hanoi Old Quarter Management Board, the event forms part of a broader Spring Festival program marking national celebrations associated with the Year of the Horse.
The exhibition brings together works by leading Vietnamese artists, including Trong Cat, Si Tot, Kim Dong, Do Duc, Pham Luc and Minh Tran, spanning watercolor, oil painting and traditional lacquer.
At its core is the image of the horse, the zodiac symbol of 2026, portrayed as a metaphor for vitality, resilience and aspiration. Traditional motifs are reinterpreted through contemporary artistic language across the exhibition space.
A highlight is the second-floor display introducing “Spring on the Border”, a lacquer painting series by artist Do Duc, which anchors the exhibition with its distinctive material and narrative depth.
The opening ceremony of the art exhibition. Photo: Mai Huong Tran
Developed and refined over many years, the works showcase the expressive range of Vietnam’s lacquer tradition, reinterpreting earlier compositions inspired by do paper paintings, oil works and wood carvings, highlighting both technical depth and visual innovation.
The painter has spent his entire creative career capturing the big picture of the majestic mountainous borderlands of northern Vietnam. In his artistic universe, Do Duc assumes the role of a visual narrator, leading viewers through sweeping mountain landscapes and forested frontiers, before settling into the quiet, enduring calm of Vietnam’s villages.
Through the colorful oil paintings of rocks, mountains, fields, Spring markets and people in the highlands, he once again skillfully professed his deep love for the motherland. Each of the paintings bore the bold mark of a soul deeply attached to nature and life there.
The horse emerges as a central motif in Do Duc’s paintings, embodying movement, strength and the spirit of renewal that defines the Lunar New Year. Photo: Tina Do
Do Duc also presents “Traditional Costumes of Ethnic Minorities in the Northern Mountains”, an 11-piece series portraying the attire of ethnic groups such as the H’Mong, Dao and Lo Lo. Each work links costume, landscape and identity, offering cultural and ethnographic insights that resonate with visitors interested in Vietnam’s diverse heritage.
Ngo Thi Thuy Duong, Head of the Hoan Kiem Lake and Hanoi Old Quarter Management Board, said the horse motif extends beyond aesthetics. “It represents freedom, endurance and the aspiration to rise - values closely tied to the Vietnamese spirit,” she said, noting the exhibition’s timing alongside major national milestones.
Set in the historic heart of Hanoi, “Spring Colors of the Year of the Horse” adds another reason for visitors to linger in the Old Quarter, blending seasonal celebration with a deeper encounter with Vietnam’s artistic and cultural landscape.
Painter Do Duc and his striking works capture the traditional costumes of Vietnam’s 54 ethnic groups.
