In a review of the 1933 Paris Salon, an art critic praised the work of two Vietnamese painters – Le Pho (1907-2001) and Le Van De (1906-1966) – suggesting that they could give the Europeans lessons intact and wisdom.” This review was just one of hundreds of traces unearthed by a research project that aimed to find information about Southeast Asian artists living in Paris between 1880 and 1960, and to generate a detailed record of their works that will serve as a basis for future research and investigation.

 

Often considered the “capital” of modern art, Paris was a magnet for artists from all over the world, including Southeast Asia. However, the details of what Southeast Asian artists did in Paris, and how they engaged with the art world there, are often sketchy or even unknown. This talk will present the initial results of this intensive research project, which found references to over 70 Southeast Asian artists in Paris - including those from Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand, The Philippines and Vietnam. Southeast Asian artists studied at French art schools and exhibited alongside their European peers in the Paris salons, but were also exhibited under the auspices of colonial propaganda, such as Vietnamese artists at the International Colonial Exposition of 1931.

 

The speakers explored some of the surprising traces of Southeast Asian artists which can still be found in Paris, including artworks, and exhibition records, through sharing some case studies from the records relating to Juan Luna (1857-1899), Le Van Mien (1874 - 1943), U Ba Nyan (1897-1945), Le Van De and Georgette Chen (1906-1993).