Minh van Nguyen, 1934-2005

From The Washington Post, January 13, 2005

Minh Van Nguyen, Lacquer Artist

Minh Van Nguyen, 70, a master lacquer artist whose work has been shown around the world, died Jan. 6 of metastatic lung cancer at Inova Fairfax Hospital. He was a resident of Centreville.

Mr. Nguyen was born in Saigon, Vietnam, and graduated with honors from the National School of Superior Fine Arts in Saigon in 1958. He received a teaching degree in fine arts in 1959 and studied lacquer techniques in Kyoto and Sendai, Japan, in 1961-62.

He mastered a form that dates to the early 12th century B.C., when Chinese artisans applied sap from trees as decorative sealants on wood objects. Mr. Nguyen’s technique was to apply layer upon layer of lacquer, sometimes up to 120 coats, to wood panels and surfaces. He often took six months to a year to finish a work.

It’s a technique that’s fast fading, because it’s time-consuming and, thus, expensive.

From 1962 to 1965, he was director of the Creation Department of the Vietnam Arts and Handicraft Development Center in Saigon, an art school he set up to teach the trade to poor children. He was owner and director of Me-Linh Vietnam Arts and Crafts Ltd. in Saigon from 1965 to 1975, employing more than a hundred people in the production of his lacquer pieces.

He escaped war-torn Vietnam in 1975, a week before Saigon fell. “He left everything behind to literally start his life over,” his daughter Chi Nguyen said.

He brought his family to the Washington area and, in the mid-1980s, operated a gallery in Georgetown.

His works include a 1964 portrait of Tunisian President Habib Bourguiba and his wife; the interior of the Vietnam Independence Palace, which now serves as a museum in Ho Chi Minh City; and large lacquer panels for the Vietnam Credit and Commercial Bank of Saigon done in 1971-72. He also created a portrait of Pope Paul VI.

He held exhibitions in Japan, Europe and the United States. In the Washington area, his work has been shown at the World Bank, the French Embassy, the University Club, Alliance Francaise de Washington and Neiman Marcus.

In 1963, he was awarded the silver medal by the International Fine Arts Exhibition in Rome and in 1982, the gold medal from the Academy of Arts, Sciences and Letters in Paris.

Survivors include six children, Nga Thai of Alexandria, Nhat Nguyen of Centreville, Tri Nguyen of Alexandria, Chi Nguyen of Roswell, Ga., Diep Nguyen of Arlington and Thai Nguyen of San Diego; his mother, Chinh Nguyen of Houston; and five grandchildren.

Inquiries regarding the purchase of Nguyen van Minh’s lacquer art Rough Waves Tsunami may be made at roughwaves@gmail.com