About Us

About Contemporary Asian Art

Contemporary Asian Art helps private collectors and corporate clients source some of the most exciting modern artworks to emerge from Asia.

We have had extensive experience in recommending artworks to our clients and can assist you in finding exactly the right painting for a particular environment, be it bedroom or boardroom. Contemporary Asian Art has been doing business now for over six years.

The artists

All the artists represented by CAA have something unique to offer. We have known most of them, many personally, and worked with them for over ten years. They are the most representative and amongst the most creative of the new wave of contemporary painters. We are very proud to be able to have had the opportunity of supporting them as they have developed and witnessing the unfolding of their artistic expression.

The artists employ a wide range of styles and techniques. The majority work in lacquer on wood or oil on canvas. We also exhibit pieces in gouache on paper and board, as well as painting on silk or rice paper.

Vietnamese painting

International interest in Vietnamese painting has really taken off in recent years. Of all the Asian art markets, Vietnam has a very special and altogether beguiling form of artistic expression. It exerts an irresistible, thoroughly seductive pull on Europe and the US.

History and culture

It has not however been until the past ten to fifteen years that Vietnam has been able to open up and become more prosperous, finally overcoming the legacy of a long and debilitating conflict, that only finished in military terms in 1975. Between 1975 up until 1990 Vietnam remained virtually isolated. The nation had been enmeshed in a series of civil and colonial wars almost continually following the Second World War. Only recently has the country been able to rediscover the benefits of peace, freedom and prosperity. This has resulted also in an artistic explosion, an outburst of pent up creativity that first became apparent in 1995-96.

What emerged from the dark period of conflict was a strange, fascinating and at times difficult and dramatic life and energy. Art became the manifestation of liberation for a generation of wartime artists, a celebration of expression, a sense of revolt, a coming of age at the conclusion of a delayed childhood. Light, passion and energy, or still, reflective depth remains also the hallmarks of the work of the first of the post war generations. Contemporary art in Vietnam is expressive, yet provoking and unique in Asia today.

With all its historic and stylistic links with European art, a legacy of the French colonial times and the enduring influence of the successful Ecole des Beaux Arts, Vietnam's art is remarkably accessible to Western tastes. This art is placed at the crossroads of Asia and Europe drawing alternately on techniques and inspiration from each direction. A thousand years of Chinese influence fused with a century of French ideas and values (which culminated in the establishment of the first Ecole des Beaux Arts in Hanoi in 1925) gives us a remarkable cultural heritage and extraordinary artistic impulse.

The techniques

Vietnamese lacquer is a striking example of this confluence of inspiration and styles. It is a magnificent synthesis of ancient Asian techniques with the lacquer applied to flat wooden boards, but the content inspired by Western notions of pictorial depiction. This felicitous combination of influences has allowed Vietnam to become the sole producer of lacquer paintings.

Today's Vietnamese artists enjoy international recognition. Many museums and private collectors own works by Do Xuan Doan, Truong Dinh Hao, Nguyen Van Hai and other prominent artists. For a dozen or so years, we have followed the development of a number of artists who have won recognition from critics and collectors around the world.

Our selection of works has been based on principles of quality, authenticity and uniqueness. All the lacquer and oil works currently being offered for purchase have been carefully and diligently selected by ourselves. We now have the pleasure of offering these works to you exclusively.