People’s Artist Nguyen Tan Phat and his witty and playful cats (Photo: VietnamPlus) Hanoi (VNA) - Sculptor Nguyen Tan Phat from Duong Lam ancient village on the outskirts of Hanoi created a collection of witty and playful cats to welcome the upcoming Lunar New Year of the Cat.
The collection includes 2,023 feline statuettes, meticulously crafted from jackfruit wood and covered with lacquer, or from laterite, the indigenous material of the artist’s hometown.
This is Phat's third unique collection of artworks inspired by symbolic animals of the lunar calendar.
Before the cat collection, he made 1,010 buffalo statues on the occasion of the 1,010th anniversary of Hanoi in 2021, and 2,022 small tigers to welcome 2022, the Year of the Tiger.
The special feature of the collections is uniqueness – no item looks alike. In his latest collection, the cats are depicted in various positions that showcase their cuteness and playfulness, chasing each other, teasing a mouse, sunbathing on house roofs or climbing trees.
According to Phat, through this lacquer statue collection, he wants to promote the values of Vietnamese traditional lacquer craft and culture by welcoming 2023 or the Year of the Cat.
“The feline statues are inspired by the image of cats in Vietnamese folk art, and the number of the artworks corresponds to the year 2023. I want to leave a lasting impression on the viewers.”
Interestingly, the cat artworks could have different functions. Besides being decorative items, one statue can be used as a box, a flower vase, or a tea tray, making practical use of the sculptures for art lovers.
To complete a one-of-a-kind artwork, the 40-year-old artist has to work on various steps, from visualising the ideas, chiselling and shaping the wood block, and then covering it with layers of paint.
After it is dried, the item will be polished, inlaid with eggshells or mother-of-pearl and added hand-drawn features like eyes or whiskers. Each artwork takes days to finish. To save time, he works alternately on several items a day and has one or two people to assist with simple work steps such as painting, sanding and lacquering.
The cat statue is inlaid with eggshells or mother-of-pearl and added hand-drawn features. (Photo: VietnamPlus) He revealed that the phases of shaping and painting the statues are the most important.
Not only different in shapes, the statues are also diverse in styles of sculpture. While some are crafted in realism style, others are depicted in abstraction or expressionism.
According to Phat, the image of a cat has inspired him as it is a domesticated animal closely associated with Vietnamese life and loved by everyone, from children to the elderly.
The statues displayed at Phat’s house in Duong Lam ancient village, Son Tay town, Hanoi. (Photo: VietnamPlus) "I have come up with many unique cat figures and positions, but I have been most impressed with the image of cats playing in the sun. That explains why I have created many decorative items depicting cats playing around."
The most impressive and sophisticated work in Phat's feline collection is a set of chairs with different colours and a fish-shaped table, which he has named Bua tiec ngay xuan (A Spring Feast). Patterns inspired by Vietnamese folk art and tales like Dam Cuoi Chuot (Mice's Wedding) or Chu Be Om Meo (Boy Hugs Cat) are used to decorate the chairs.
Dedication to ancient cat
Phat was born in the Hanoi suburb of Son Tay Town. As the only lacquer artisan in the town, he has contributed to passing down the craft to the next generation and inspiring young artists in his homeland, as well as creating jobs for dozens of locals.
His greatest desire is not only to preserve and promote traditional lacquer fine art but also to bring this traditional beauty of Vietnam to the world. His original artisanal artworks have made a great impression on Vietnamese and international art lovers in recent years.
Phat said he inherited his passion for art his father and grandfather. During his childhood, he followed them to restore heritage buildings in his hometown, like communal houses, temples, and shrines, which exposed him to his first understanding of lacquer art.
His childhood passion inspired him to study lacquer painting at the Hanoi University of Industrial Fine Arts. After graduating, Phat embarked on his own artistic path. He started a private business specialising in lacquer paintings, lacquerwares, and inlaid and lacquered jewellery in his hometown.
Since then, his artistic career began to flourish, and he has won many awards, such as first prizes in the Hanoi handicraft design competitions in 2014 and 2019, and the top prize in the Vietnam Handicraft Design Contest 2020 with the “1010 Lacquered Buffalo Statues” project.
Most recently, his feline statue named Meo Xu Doai (Cat of Doai Land) won third prize in the Vietnam Handicraft Design contest 2022.
A set of chairs with different colours and a fish-shaped table is Phat’s most impressive and sophisticated work. He has named it “A spring Feast” (Photo: Vietnamplus). In 2017, he was among the youngest artists honoured as a talented “Hanoi Artisan” by the municipal People's Committee./.
