Lê Phô, Mai-Thu, Vu Cao Dam: the pioneers of Vietnamese modern art at the Cernuschi Museum, photos

After an exhibition devoted to Japanese prints, the Cernuschi museum is interested in Vietnamese art, and more particularly in the modern art of three great pioneers of the genre. From October 11, 2024 to March 9, 2025come and discover the work of Le Pho (1907-2001), Mai-Thu (1906-1980) et From Cao Dam (1908-2000) during a unique exhibition.

Announced as the first major retrospective in France dedicated to these three pioneers of Vietnamese modern artthe exhibition brings together 150 of their works from 25 different collections (various funds, public or private lenders, artists’ families, close friends, etc.).

The opportunity to better discover the journey of these three friends, as well as their trajectories from their training at the School of Fine Arts in Hanoi, in their native country, to the end of their long career led in France from from 1937. The Vietnam and France : here are two countries that the three artists loved equally.

Whether Le Pho, Mai-Thu or From Cao Damthe three painters were inspired by political changes and relations between the two countries throughout the 20th century to create and give birth to numerous works. Works to admire through a chronological journey thought in three stages: from the Fine Arts of Hanoi to Paris in the 1930s, from the seductions of artistic Paris to the tumult of war, then the French period with an evolution of the three styles.

Intended for fans of Asian art, painting enthusiasts or simply the curious, this unique exhibition is an opportunity to learn more about the lives and careers of these three artists thanks to a selection of photographs ancientdrawings and sketches, videos or even lacquered screens as well as several plaster or bronze sculptures signed From Cao Dam.

But this installation, to be seen from October 11, 2024 to March 9, 2025, also and above all reveals a large series of paintings on silk andoils on canvas. There is, for example, this imposing oil on canvas signed Le Pho. Entitled “The family home in Tonkin“, this work was notably exhibited at the Salon of French Artists at the beginning of the 1930s in Paris, before joining the Cité universitaire de Paris. Further on, the emotion is felt when discovering an oil painting by Mai-Thu depicting a mother carrying the naked corpse of her child. This work was painted for himself, it is explained, as an outlet for his pain.

Because this exhibition also evokes, in the background, the political relations stormy conflicts between France and Vietnam, and the wars. Thus, these three artists are distinguished by their choice to pursue their careers in France. If their adventure continued in France by choice, it also continued because of the tumult of the war which raged on one side then the other of the continent, between 1939 and 1975.

This installation is also an opportunity to better dissect their techniques and materials from Western and Asian traditions (Vietnamese lacquer painting and Vietnamese silk painting).

To discover the exhibition “Lê Phô, Mai-Thu, Vu Cao Dam. Pioneers of Vietnamese modern art in France“, go to Cernuschi museum from October 11, 2024 to March 9, 2025.

The Cernuschi Museum: the free museum, a jewel of Asian arts in Paris
The Cernuschi Museum is the museum of Asian arts in Paris, which traces the history of the Chinese, Japanese, Korean and Vietnamese peoples, since the Neolithic era. The collection includes works acquired by the city, including 5,000 works bequeathed by Henri Cernuschi in the 19th century. The centerpiece of the museum is a large bronze Buddha, which dominates the immense high-ceilinged room where the permanent collections are gathered. [Lire la suite]