Exhibition showcases work of French artist in Vientiane

An exhibition promoting the work of French artist Marie-Do Boneu Hyman is taking place at the i:cat gallery in Vientiane.

Marie-Do Boneu Hyman (left) with the owner of the i:cat gallery, Catherine O’Brien, at the exhibition.

The exhibition titled ‘VienSun’ displays over 23 lacquer paintings and 20 or more watercolours, drawings, mixed media, limited edition posters and mono-prints, and represents the portfolio of a dedicated artist.
While the focus of the exhibition is the exquisite lacquer paintings making up VienSun, with views and landmarks of Vientiane, the exhibition also reflects the range of techniques the artist has adopted to express her visual response to the city in which she lives.
Marie-Do Boneu Hyman said “VienSun is a love poem to my adopted city, Vientiane. Her streets littered with disjointed and scarred buildings, its electrical wires hanging like cobwebs, never cease to fascinate me. During my early morning walks through slumbering neighbourhoods or on my trips to and from the near-empty downtown bathed in leaden heat, I have often been able to marvel at her dawns and dusks as they transform the city-scape.”
“Back to Toronto”, which is included in this exhibition, is an exhibit created in 2016. The vegetal lacquer backgrounds were done in Laos and shown at the French Institute of Vientiane. The artist then went back to Toronto with the panels after a six-year absence. In a Toronto studio she used gold leaf to complete the works with city street scenes. “This is a vision of my beloved Canada,” she said. The showing in January 2017 at the French Institute of Toronto was the high point of that artistic adventure.
Included in VienSun, these lacquer paintings reflect why Marie-Do Boneu Hyman belongs to a group of international artists known for their contemporary reinterpretation of lacquer art.
Marie-Do Boneu Hyman settled in Vientiane over 10 years ago. Her first local exhibition titled Éphémères: lacquer painting was exhibited in 2012 at the i:cat gallery. Her work has been exhibited in Vientiane, Luang Prabang, Singapore, Hanoi, Toronto, Shanghai and Siem Reap. She is a member of the Asia Lacquer Craft Exchange Research Programme and Lacquers Associés pour la Creation.
Having completed a Bachelor of Arts at the Deco School in Paris, the artist learnt and developed lacquer painting techniques in Hanoi, where West and East converged at the beginning of the 20th century to create this new art form. Marie-Do sought out the artists who could teach her this unique art form.
Since settling in Vientiane, the artist has continued to experiment with lacquer painting while responding to her environment.
For several years Marie-Do opened her studio in Vientiane to artists and those wishing to learn about lacquer painting. Her studio has welcomed local and international students interested in this unique technique.
The opening of the VienSun exhibition last week was well attended with more people visiting over the weekend. The exhibition will continue until June 12, with free entrance.
On May 31, from 12 noon until 1:30 pm, at the i:cat gallery in Kaoyord village, Sisattanak district, the artist will give an in-depth demonstration of lacquer painting techniques. Please call +856 20 77839674 if you are interested, as places are limited.

By Visith Teppalath
(Latest Update May 26, 2022)