Created in 2008, Vietnamese contemporary artist Trân Nguyên Dán (B. 1941) presents a lyrical interpretation of Hòn Chén Temple. Le temple Hòn Chén evokes one of Hue’s most resonant sacred sites, rendered not through architectural description alone but as a distilled impression shaped by memory. Surrounded by fields of ochre and moss green, the temple’s terraces unfold in a measured ascent, guiding the eye along a calm, sacred path. The choice of gouache on silk sustains a clear graphic language, where contours assert structure and colour is held in measured planes.

Accompanied by a drawing as an extension of the artist’s study of Sình Village and its ritual folk imagery – Sình Village of Huê (2008), it extends into a densely layered assemblage of motifs, where ceremonial figures, labour, architectural fragments, and the zodiac cycle are held in a flattened, non-hierarchical space. Together, the works trace a progression from accumulation to condensation: the drawing gathers a cultural vocabulary, while the painting distils it into a composed, contemplative image. Both works are rooted in Hue’s shared ritual and graphic traditions; they link vernacular imagery with sacred sites, presenting the city not as a fixed location, but as a structured and enduring cultural memory.

Best known for his woodblock works, this duo lot stands exceptionally apart within his practice. Trained at the Hanoi University of Industrial Fine Arts and later serving as Deputy Director of the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum, Trân Nguyên Đán has sustained a disciplined approach rooted in line and structure. His compositions favour accumulation over perspective, allowing architectural fragments, ritual, and landscape to coexist within a measured, flattened space that quietly preserves cultural memory.