A lacquer painting exhibit called “The four of us”, which is running in central Hue city from now to June 6, sees the convergence of four different styles from three artists in a family and their Japanese friend.

The exhibit is running at the French Culture Center, 1 Le Hong Phong, Hue, from now to June 6 evening.

The foursome, comprising of artist Nguyen Duc Huy and his wife Luong Thi Anh Tuyet, who are both lecturers at the Hue Arts University, their son Nguyen Duc Phuoc, who is studying designing at an art institute in China, and Japanese artist Yoshifumi Hama, the family’s close friend, all have one thing in common: their insatiable passion for Vietnamese lacquer paintings.

Eight smooth, glossy lacquer works by Huy, themed “I dream”, feature the artist’s ‘self’ naively sucking fingernails along with other manifestations of a carefree, serene life.

Meanwhile, with her seven lacquer paintings themed “My garden”, Tuyet skillfully depicts her personal space as well as blissful states.

The nine works by Phuoc, Huy and Tuyet’s son, which boast a lot of egg-colored patches, provide different perspectives on kinship and life.

Yoshifumi’s ten works, themed “Hue and I”, features vivid color patches and familiar subject matters such as fishermen’s floating houses on the Huong river, a fisherman at the Thuan An beach, or the artist’s footsteps along the time-honored local sites.

The family and their Japanese friend’s bond began over five years ago when Yoshifumi came to see Huy at his villa to learn about the Vietnamese lacquer art.

The Japanese artist wasn’t only struck by Huy’s helpful guidance but also by Huy and Tuyet’s villa, which is a resplendent, unique, some-thousands-m2 artwork created by the family members.

Since then, Yoshifumi has spent some months a year in Hue to indulge in his Vietnamese lacquer passion with Huy’s family.

His first lacquer works were exhibited at the Kyobashi Du Gallery in Kyobashi, Japan in 2012.