Vietnamese painter holds solo exhibition in France

The works are inspired by her father, a MIG-21 pilot, and a book by Indian mystic Osho called “My Way: The Way of the White Clouds.”

The artist has combined her oil painting technique with embroidery and handmade beading to create over 30 paintings that depict the journey of clouds – how they are formed.

She uses only two colors – red and black – to express the light-dark contrast, the floating state of the clouds and the interaction of the sun, wind and clouds, which create various shapes and colors in the sky.

Thuy Nguyen in a promotional poster for the “Floating In The Nothingness” exhibition. Photo courtesy of the artist

The paintings, drawn from the perspective of looking out of a plane window, are like a diary of Thuy Nguyen’s views. She sees herself as having many similarities with the clouds: constantly changing and moving back and forth across many places.

She chose the Chateau La Coste, a winery and art center in France, as the venue for her exhibition.

Many world-renowned artists have exhibited here, including Louise Bourgeois, Alexander Carder, Ai Wei Wei, Damien Hirst, Tracy Emin, Tadao Ando, Renzo Piano, and Richard Rogers.

Thuy Nguyen was born in Hanoi in 1981. She graduated from the Vietnam University of Fine Arts and holds a doctorate degree from Ukraine’s National Academy of Visual Arts and Architecture.

She has 20 years of experience in painting on a variety of mediums. She founded Ho Chi Minh City’s The Factory Contemporary Art Center in 2016 with the goal of connecting the community of artists, designers and other creative people.

Forbes magazine named her one of the “50 most powerful women in Vietnam in 2019.”