Bui Trong Du: Lotus, Light and Lacquer – A Vietnamese Lacquer Artist You Should Know
In the quiet studios of northern Vietnam, where the scent of lacquer resin mingles with turpentine and patience, Bui Trong Du builds paintings the way a musician builds a symphony – layer by careful layer. Born in 1976 in the port city of Hai Phong, Du has spent over two decades transforming the ancient Vietnamese medium of son mai (lacquer painting) into something unmistakably his own: luminous, meditative compositions in which lotus flowers, koi fish, and the soft light of rural Vietnam glow as if lit from within.
His works are held in private collections across the United States, France, Singapore, and South Korea. Yet for all his international recognition, Du remains rooted in the traditions of his craft. Every painting he produces passes through the same painstaking process that Vietnamese lacquer masters have followed for centuries – wooden board, cloth lining, layers of natural resin, sanding, polishing, and the slow revelation of color through subtraction rather than addition.
From Hai Phong to the International Stage
Bui Trong Du grew up in Hai Phong, a city whose industrial energy and coastal light would later find their way into his art in unexpected ways. He trained in fine arts and quickly gravitated toward lacquer – a medium that demands extraordinary discipline. Where an oil painter might finish a canvas in days, a lacquer artist works in weeks or months, building up as many as twenty layers of resin, pigment, eggshell, and gold or silver leaf before sanding the surface back to reveal the hidden depths beneath.
Du's exhibition history reads like a map of the global art world. He showed at the Hampden Gallery in Amherst, Massachusetts in 2011 as part of the landmark "Openlacquer" exhibition that introduced American audiences to contemporary Vietnamese lacquer. In 2013, his works hung in the historic Valmer Castle and the Renner Cultural and Art House in France. Two years later, he was part of "Pearls of Vietnam" in London, organized by Hanoi UK Art House. In 2017, the Embassy of Vietnam selected his work for a diplomatic exhibition at Myanmar Plaza in Yangon.
Closer to home, Du has shown consistently at Vietnam's most prestigious venues: the Vietnam Museum of Fine Arts, the National Fine Arts Exhibition, and multiple UNESCO-sponsored exhibitions in Hanoi. His solo exhibitions – "Echoes of Summer" at the InterContinental Hanoi Landmark 72 in 2018 and "SUMMER" at the MVG Gallery inside Lotte Center – confirmed his status as one of the most sought-after lacquer painters of his generation.
The Art: Why Collectors Love Bui Trong Du
Stand in front of a Bui Trong Du lotus painting and the first thing you notice is the light. His lacquer surfaces possess an almost unearthly glow – the result of countless layers of transparent and semi-transparent resin built up and then carefully sanded back. Petals appear to float above the background. Water shimmers. Gold leaf catches the ambient light of the room and shifts as you move.
Du's favorite subjects – lotus ponds, lily flowers, koi fish, plum blossoms – are deeply traditional in Vietnamese art. But his treatment is contemporary. He simplifies forms, plays with negative space, and uses color with a restraint that owes as much to modern design sensibility as to classical Vietnamese aesthetics. A painting like "Lotus Serenity" (50×60 cm, lacquer on board) distills an entire summer afternoon into a few luminous petals against a dark, almost abstract background. "Green Lotus" (80×180 cm) stretches the subject across a panoramic format that turns a flower into a landscape.
He also ventures beyond flora. "Whisper of the Red River" (80×100 cm) captures the languid beauty of Vietnam's most storied waterway. "After the Harvest" evokes the golden stillness of rice paddies in autumn. And his figurative works – "Virgin" and "Nude Girls" – demonstrate a command of the human form rendered in the demanding lacquer medium.
What Makes Vietnamese Lacquer Painting Special
For collectors unfamiliar with the medium, Vietnamese lacquer painting (son mai) is one of the most labor-intensive art forms in the world. The process begins with a wooden board sealed and reinforced with cloth and multiple coats of raw lacquer. Pigments – traditionally limited to black, red-brown, and the natural gold of eggshell – are mixed into the resin and applied in thin coats, each of which must dry for days in a humid environment before the next is added.
The magic happens in the sanding. Once enough layers have been built up, the artist sands the surface with fine abrasive stone, selectively revealing the colors buried beneath. A lotus petal that appears red on the surface might have gold leaf, eggshell, and deep brown layers beneath, all of which contribute to its visual depth. The final polishing – often done by hand with the artist's palm – produces the characteristic deep, luminous sheen that no photograph fully captures.
Bui Trong Du works within this tradition but pushes it forward. His palette is broader than the classical range, incorporating blues, greens, and silvery tones that give his compositions a contemporary freshness while honoring the material's heritage.
Paintings by Bui Trong Du Available at Hanoi Art Gallery
Hanoi Art Gallery currently holds one of the largest collections of Bui Trong Du's original works, including:
Lotus Serenity – 50×60 cm, lacquer painting
Plum Blossom Forest – 80×120 cm, lacquer painting
Whisper of the Red River – 80×100 cm, lacquer painting
After the Harvest – 80×100 cm, lacquer painting
Fragrance of Lotus in the Sun – 80×60 cm, lacquer painting
Lotus Song – 60×80 cm, lacquer painting
Green Lotus – 80×180 cm, lacquer painting
Red Lotus 2 – 80×180 cm, lacquer painting
Lotus Flower 1 – 100×100 cm, lacquer painting
Fish Dance – 60×80 cm, lacquer painting
Every painting is an original, hand-crafted work accompanied by an artist-signed Certificate of Authenticity. Hanoi Art Gallery ships worldwide via FedEx with full insurance – same-day dispatch, arriving within five days in the US and Europe, three days in Asia.
Commission a Custom Work
Bui Trong Du accepts commissions through Hanoi Art Gallery. Whether you are looking for a specific size to fit a particular wall, a lotus composition in a preferred color palette, or an entirely new subject, the gallery team will coordinate directly with the artist. Commissions typically take four to eight weeks depending on size and complexity. Contact Hanoi Art Gallery at hanoiart36@gmail.com or call/WhatsApp +84 984 589 999 to discuss your project.
Visit or Shop Online
Hanoi Art Gallery is located at 36-38 Trang Tien Street, Hanoi – a short walk from Hoan Kiem Lake and the Old Quarter. The gallery is open daily and welcomes visitors without appointment. You can also browse and purchase Bui Trong Du's paintings online at hanoi-artgallery.com, with secure payment and worldwide delivery.
