Van Thuc Cao (Hai Phong, b. 1994)
In The Joy, the painter captured the innocent and carefree moment of a little girl playing with an adorable baby goat. The diagonal lines of the haystack in the background give the impression that the little girl has just leaned over and made the haystack sunk. The visage is cheerful and playful, but also maintaining the tough appearance of a highland child, indicated by the tanned skin. The girl “looks” at the viewer with curiosity, full of interest, as if she anticipated that the viewers would be tourists from faraway lands. Two prominent red persimmons in the lower-left corner add vivid accents for the square composition. The red-yellow tone is reminiscent of a hot, vibrant and energetic summer.