Doan vietnamese painter

Contemporary Asian Art artists

All the artists presented by Contemporary Asian Art have something unique to offer. Often non-Western artists are pigeon-holed as traditional or ‘naïve’, using ago old techniques that are quaint, but have hardly evolved artistically. Some traditional regional art is therefore decorative, but lacks depth, subtlety and artistic sophistication. Vietnam's French legacy however, combined with local techniques, has created a uniquely productive environment, that fuses the traditional with the modern and the Asian with the European.

As can be found in the selection of artists and works, there is a wide range of styles and techniques in modern Vietnamese painting. Some artists remain traditional craftsmen dealing with familiar subjects, although depicted with an extraordinary technical precision. Others show evidence of impressionist or expressionist inspiration. In each case the art is accessible to Western tastes and traditions, while remaining anchored in the East. This is the key to the magic and inspiration of the best of modern Vietnamese art.



Doan was born in Hanoi in 1937. He graduated from the "Ecole des Beaux Arts de Hanoi" in 1961. Doan then spent the next thirty years of his life teaching at various art institutes. But it was not until the 1990's that the artistic revival in Vietnam finally propelled him to the forefront of the milieu. He is now the leader of the new generation that has taken to more creative and vivid forms and colours. While he has become the undisputed master of lacquer works, he has been able to harness his skills to a deep creativity and sensitivity, which can also be felt in his strong and brilliant oil paintings. His works can be found in many private collections in the United States, Europe and Asia.

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