VIETNAMESE ART TRIO TO LEAD BONHAMS SOUTHEAST ASIA ART SALE

Known as the “Vietnamese Art Trio of Paris”, Mai Trung Thu (1906-1980), Vu Cao Dam (1908-2000) and Le Pho (1907-2001) share many things in common. All three of them are the pioneers of Modern Vietnamese Art, training at the Indochina School of Fine Arts in colonial Hanoi in the early 20th century. They not only studied Western techniques and theories of art, but also experimented with Vietnamese traditional media to create art that is closely connected to their local culture and aesthetics. The trio would all then go on to exhibit their works in Paris and abroad from the 1930s onwards, before eventually leaving Vietnam and building their lives overseas. Although appealing mostly to the Western audience at first, their works have now gained global recognition and following. On 3 December 2022, Bonhams Southeast Asian Modern and Contemporary Art sale in Hong Kong will present a series of attractively-estimated works by the “Vietnamese Art Trio of Paris”, alongside the emerging Burmese art and other Southeast Asian artists.

Leading the sale is Mai Trung Thu’s La Chanteuse IV from the 1940s, a period in which the artist started painting on silk. The unique quality of silk, such as its tactile softness and its receptivity to wet media, allows the artist to render subtle shades of colours to give a delicate sense of femininity. Mai had a great passion for music – an element which he was keen to incorporate in his works such as La Chanteuse IV. The painting exhibits sight and sound on its canvas, inviting the viewer to experience an intimate and ephemeral moment captured in its pictorial space. Estimated at HK$5,800,000-6,800,000.

Sharing the spotlight is Still Life by Le Pho, an exemplary work of the artist’s important Findlay period between the 1960s and 2001. The work features a colourful palette with hazy pale-yellow light rendered in soft feathered brushwork, showcasing the artist’s unparalleled virtuosity. The painting carries an estimate of HK$320,000-470,000. Untitled (Portrait) by Vu Cao Dam encapsulates the artist’s strong connection with his beloved motherland, which had shaped and inspired his artistic vision despite the war and geopolitical upheaval that took place over the course of his career. The painting is offered at an estimate of HK$300,000-400,000.

After a record-setting season for Burmese art, the December sale will once again offer a single-owner collection of Burmese modern art, by artists who participated in the country’s modernist vanguard movements in the 1960s and ’70s, namely Bagyi Aung Soe (1924-1990), Win Pe (b. 1935), Kin Maung Yin (1938-2014), and Paw Thame (1948-2014).

Yunwen Sung, Bonhams Head of Sale of Southeast Asian Modern and Contemporary Art, commented: “We are excited to offer a great spectrum of works, from those by the blue-chip Vietnamese artists to upcoming but promising genre such as the Burmese art. Of note is a series of early works by the Vietnamese Art Trio of Paris who give us a glimpse into how Vietnamese modern art came to flourish. Southeast Asia Art is continuously vibrant, and the sale is carefully curated to show our dedication and confidence in the category.”