Hom Nguyen (born 20 September 1972) is a French painter of Vietnamese origin. His works are mostly portraits in a figurative style. He lives and works in Paris.[1][2]
Early life
Thi Lan Nguyen, Hom Nguyen's mother left Vietnam at the end of the 1960s for France and settled in Paris. In 1972 she gave birth to her only child, Hom Nguyen. Following a 1978 car accident, his mother was paraplegic.[3] In an interview with artist and musician
Manu Katché, Nguyen says : "My only family was my mother. She couldn't work with her disability, that's why I left school at a young age and started working".[4][5] In 2009 his mother died. Hom Nguyen, a shoe salesman at this time, decided to devote himself to drawing and painting.[6]
Career
Hom Nguyen is a self-taught artist and never took drawing lessons. His painting is figurative. He began by painting huge portraits of celebrities.[7][8] From then on he would create more personal works of women and children, echoes of his past. He realizes his works on canvas in different mediums, pencil, pastels, china ink, charcoal, acrylic, and oil.[9] On the occasion of the 2016 edition of the contemporary Paris Art Fair, organised at the
Grand Palais in Paris, the President of the Republic
François Hollande was shown his work.[10] His work on the representation of the human figure was presented in multiple solo and group exhibitions around the world through international contemporary art fairs.[11][12] In the Bangkok Post, Hom Nguyen says that he is the bearer of a dual western and eastern culture, and he is working to open a wider cultural platform, a link between France and Asia.[13] In 2019, in collaboration with the museum
La Monnaie de Paris and Vogue magazine, he painted a portrait of
Michelle Obama. The artwork was auctioned by
Christie's and funds raised were pledged to be donated to support gender equality and women's empowerment, led by
United Nations Women.[14] That same year he donated a portrait of
Édith Piaf which to be exhibited at the entrance to the Meyniel wing of the
Tenon Hospital where Piaf was born in 1915.[15] The artist then participated in the commemoration of the 250th anniversary of
Napoleon Bonaparte, by making a contemporary portrait of the emperor for the
Tour du Sel in
Calvi.[16][17] Hom Nguyen was made
Knight of the National Order of Merit of France on 24 November 2021.[18]
In December 2021, the
Musée de l'Homme took up the issue of the under-representation of people of diversity in public space. Hom Nguyen created, for the exhibition Portraits de France, a work representing
Aimé Césaire.[19]
In May 2022, the artist donated a work to the
Hôtel National des Invalides to support wounded soldiers and bereaved families from all armies.[20]
In 2024, the french Post Office is celebrating Charles Aznavour 100th birth anniversary. A collector’s stamp bearing the singer’s image is produced by Hom Nguyen.[21][22]
Artwork
Hom Nguyen uses many relatively different materials such as oil, acrylic, ink, gouache felt, Indian ink or charcoal. The artist's work is part of an introspective approach, echoes of a resilient memory, in which questions of integration and immigration resonate, sometimes very contemporary, at others more contemplative.[1][23][24]
Exhibitions
2023 : Musée d’art et d’histoire
Paul-Éluard, solo show, Saint Denis, France.[25]
^"Hom Nguyen --Artsper". Artsper -- Buy Original Art Online - Artworks: Paintings, Photos and More. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
^Kloetzli, Sophie (April 2018). "Hom Nguyen, l'art de la trajectoire" [Hom Nguyen, the art of the trajectory]. Koi - Magazine de société des cultures asiatiques (in French). France.
^Besson, Antoine (October 2017). "Aller au bout de ses rêves" [Go after your dreams]. Asie Reportages (in French) (199). France: 15, 16, 17.
^Chatrier, Marie France (December 2014). "Marie Gillain en voit de toutes les couleurs" [Marie Gillain sees all the colors]. Paris Match (in French). France.