On 22 November, Aguttes will be auctioning the Vietnamese art collection of Mrs L. This collection gathers over fifty works produced between the 1970s and 2000s by artists who have been exhibited and published, including Dao Minh Tri, Nguyen Trung and Buu Chi. The collection brings together a wide range of artistic expressions and testifies to a rich Vietnamese cultural history barely known to the western general public.

Can you tell us about your first encounter with Vietnam in 2007?
In 2007, as a young curatorial assistant, I had the opportunity to work with the curator of the Singapore Art Museum to organise a special exhibition celebrating the 35 years of cultural relations between Singapore and Vietnam. The purpose of the exhibition, entitled "Post Doi Moi, Vietnamese Art after 1990", was to illustrate the impact of Doi Moi, Vietnam's new policy of economic openness initiated in 1986, on local artistic creation.

The conditions for this first encounter were ideal. We were welcomed by artists, museums, galleries and even a few collectors in Saigon, then Hue and finally Hanoi. A perfect opportunity to discover the country and its art scene.

How did your art collection begin? What was your first acquisition?
My first artistic coup de coeur happened during my visit to the Galerie Quynh in Saigon. I was deeply touched by an abstract painting by Nguyen Tan Cuong, an artist already well known in Saigon. The work enthralled me with its vivid colours, texture and simple yet profound composition. It was a striking emotional and intellectual experience.

The purchase of this artwork a year later on a journey with my husband marked the beginning of our collection, which is mainly focused on contemporary Vietnamese abstract art.

How did you develop your collection?
After I stepped down from my position at the Singapore Museum in 2011, I continued to travel to Vietnam for various exhibition projects, but also to cultivate my connection with the country and its artists, some of whom have even become friends, Nguyen Trung and Dao Minh Tri. Beyond these personal links, my collection is a reflection of my willingness to commit to raising awareness of Vietnam's contemporary art scene, which is still little known abroad.

Over the years, we have built up our collection around three main themes: contemporary abstract painting (Post Doi Moi), lacquer art and the influence of Chinese art on Vietnamese abstract art.


Nguyen Trung (né en 1940), Hand print, 2003
Mixed media, oil and clay on canvas
100 x 100 cm
Estimation: 15 000 - 25 000 €


Dao Minh Tri (né en 1950), Fish story, 1994
Oil on canvas
134.5 x 115 cm
Estimation: 2 000 - 3 000 €

Which places do you recommend for discovering contemporary abstract art in Vietnam?
The Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Association's annual exhibition is a great place to discover new talent, with a wide range of artistic styles represented. We discovered artists such as Mai Anh Dung, Mac Hoang Thuong and La Van Huy. All styles of art are represented here, allowing us to appreciate the rich artistic productions of the region.

We find it wonderful to meet artists and talk to them about their artistic practices. Some artists, mainly from the older generation, speak French, Nguyen Trung and Dao Minh Tri for example.


Mai Anh Dung, Words, 2005
Mixed media
100 x 100 cm
Estimation: 100 – 300€


La Van Huy
Adam, 2007
Oil on canvas
130 x 160 cm
Estimation: 100 – 200€

Can you tell us about the beginnings of contemporary abstract art in Vietnam?
The evolution of Vietnamese art reflects a rich and complex history, marked by exceptional craftsmanship, particularly lacquer painting, then by the influence of Western trends (Cubism, Expressionism, abstract art) taught at the Hanoi School of Fine Arts from 1924, and finally by the Socialist Realism movement, encouraged by the Vietnamese government in reaction to the previous colonial context.

Abstract art therefore had a promising start, particularly in the 1960s and 1970s, thanks in particular to the influence of the Association of Young Vietnamese Artists. However, this period of great artistic diversity came to an end with the fall of Saigon and the unification of Vietnam in 1976. Socialist realism then became the main artistic movement in Vietnam. Abstraction, seen as the remaining influence of the West, was banned. Many abstract works were lost, hidden away or destroyed. It was only after the new Doi Moi policy in 1986 and the opening up of the country's economy that abstract art began to thrive again.

When did contemporary abstract art gain recognition in Vietnam?
Organised in 1992 in Ho Chi Minh City, the first exhibition of abstract art in Vietnam validated abstraction as a major artistic language. It was a key event in the history of Vietnamese painting.

Among the artists involved were already rising stars such as Ca Le Thang, Dao Minh Tri, Nguyen Tan Cuong, Nguyen Thanh Binh, Nguyen Lam, Tran Van Thao and veteran painter Nguyen Trung.

These artists were part of a new collective that began exhibiting together in 1989.

Throughout the band's seven-year history, Nguyen Trung's aesthetic and technical experiments have had a profound influence on the direction of the band.


Nguyen Lam (né en 1941)
Abstraction n.2, 2006
Oil on canvas
150 x 180 cm
Estimation: 600 – 100€

In your opinion, what stories do these works of abstract art convey?
For these artists, abstraction was a way of expressing pure values of freedom and individualism. The collection of these works documents the history of a personal and artistic struggle against censorship and a certain aesthetic conformism. From another perspective, abstract art was a way for artists to evoke the trauma of war. Artists such as Nguyen Tan Cuong, Vo Xuan (a war painter) and Dao Minh Tri depict deeply emotional themes such as the scars of war and the timelessness of nature.


Vo Xuan, Original Vietnamese Communist Party propaganda poster, 2013
Mixed media on paper, signed in the design lower right, countersigned and dated lower right
Estimation: 150 - 300€

The memory of the war is still very present among the artists who experienced it, and some of them have produced poignant stories and works. One work in particular touched us enormously after we spoke to the artist: Pushing Away The War, by Dao Minh Tri. In our eyes, it's a Vietnamese version of Guernica.


Dao Minh Tri (né en 1950), Pushing away the war, 1996
Lacquer of four panels
120 x 240 cm
Estimation: 30 000 - 50 000 €

A second axis of your collection is the art of lacquer. Can you explain your interest in this technique?
Lacquer has a special place in my collection. This technique came originally from China, but underwent a unique development in Vietnam. In 1927, an experimental lacquer workshop was set up at the Indochina School of Fine Arts, under the impetus of Joseph Inguimberty, an artist and teacher. This teacher encouraged a whole generation of artists to experiment with this art. Lacquer work represents a bridge between traditional Vietnamese craftsmanship and the fine arts.

Lacquer has played an essential role in the Vietnamese art movement. Artists adopted abstract concepts and experimented with new techniques and materials to create modern and contemporary works of art.

In particular, we had the opportunity to visit the studios of artists specialising in this technique (Nguyen Hong Son, Duong Sen, Dao Minh Tri). We really fell under the spell of this art form, which combines patience and technical mastery, a field of technical innovation and a singular aesthetic approach. From the minimalist pieces of Do Ky Huy to the committed paintings of Dao Minh Tri, not to mention the joyful and colourful lacquer work of Nguyen Hong Son, Vietnamese lacquer painting offers a medium for a variety of styles, themes and artistic experiments.

For us, collecting lacquerware is a way of encouraging, preserving and appreciating a craft that could be threatened by modernisation.


Do Ky Huy, Rain 2, 1998
Lacquer on wood
95 x 100 cm
Estimation: 400 - 600€

Finally, can you tell us why you decided to collect abstract works with a Chinese influence?
The Chinese influence on Vietnamese art is historically significant due to the geographical proximity and cultural exchanges between the two countries. Vietnam has absorbed influences from China over the centuries in areas such as architecture, philosophy, painting and calligraphy.

This influence can be found in many Vietnamese works of art, particularly in the field of abstraction. Vietnamese artists have successfully integrated Chinese aesthetics, interpreting traditional forms in innovative ways. The fusion of Chinese influence with Vietnamese traditions and Western inspirations creates a unique synthesis in art.

Artists such as Do Ky Huy have applied Chinese aesthetics to lacquer painting, offering a new approach to an ancient art form. In his paintings, Mac Hoang Thuong, an artist from Saigon, delights in reinterpreting the Chinese landscape using mixed techniques. Some artists, such as Nguyen Lam, have experimented with Indian ink in different media, playing with density and the effects of brushstrokes to create abstract compositions on lacquer or canvas.


Mac Hoang Thuong, Fire Forest (Spring), 2007
Oil on canvas
160 x 160 cm
Estimation: 200 – 400€

How did you conceive your art collection? What does the ensemble represent for you?
We have curated our collection of Vietnamese abstract art as a way of engaging with a rich cultural history, diverse artistic expression, unique techniques, and a deep connection to universal and personal themes.

This collection was also an investment in the contemporary Vietnamese art scene and a means of promoting not only abstract art among young artists, but also the lacquer tradition, still on the fringes of the art market.

We hope that the exposure of this collection, which includes a number of artists who have been exhibited and published, will help to bring modern and contemporary Vietnamese art to a wider international audience.

Click here to discover this upcoming Contemporary Art from the post-war years to the present day
Wednesday 22 November 2023

For any further information, please contact
Ophélie Guillerot
+33 1 47 45 93 02
guillerot@aguttes.com