Ha Tri Hieu (b. 1959) was one member of ‘Gang of Five’ – the first group of painters who got international attention in Vietnam after Doi Moi policy. It was in part Hieu’s work in the early 90’s that opened the door to young artists who wanted to paint their emotions, hopes, and dreams as opposed to the Vietnamese countryside or the Vietnamese war effort. His work is wonderfully naïve, combining hints of his imagination with the reality of what surrounds him.  Ha Tri Hieu’s artworks have long delighted the viewers with his flights of fancy; paintings of whimsy, lyrical expressions of country singers, cows, along with his self portraits exude the pastoral quality of a rural soul not yet urbanized. His style and palette, more and more prone to expressionism is colorful and bold with abandon. (Suzanne Lecht)