artLIVE – As part of the Villa Saigon 2025 Artist Residency Program, the French Institute in Vietnam introduces to the public a large scale oil painting exhibition titled ‘Ở đây, ở đó và ở khắp mọi nơi’ by artist Chloé Saï Breil-Dupont.
Chloé Saï Breil-Dupont – A French – Vietnamese artistic lineage
Chloé Saï Breil-Dupont, whose Vietnamese name is Bui Khue, was born in 1990 in Paris and embodies a confluence of French, Catalan, and Vietnamese heritage. She currently lives and works in Ho Chi Minh City.
In 2017, she created and self-published Le Livre O, a graphic novel that explores parallel universes and layered realities. The work was presented at prestigious art venues such as the Centre Pompidou and the Palais de Tokyo.
In 2021, she received the Jean-François Prat Prize, one of the most respected honors for young artists. With academic training at Beaux-Arts de Paris and a background in Philosophy from PUC São Paulo in Brazil, she has developed her own artistic voice, leaving a mark through international exhibitions in museums, galleries, and art fairs.
In recent years, she has continued to affirm her independent practice with solo exhibitions including all doors opened in Los Angeles (2024), Our Tongues Have the Taste of Powder in Los Angeles (2023), and I NEVER BROKE UP WITH YOU in Antwerp (2022).
Returning to Vietnam, she chose ‘Ở đây, ở đó và ở khắp mọi nơi’ as a way to leave her imprint on her ancestral land. This is her very first exhibition in Vietnam.
‘Ở đây, ở đó và ở khắp mọi nơi’ – Collecting the red threads of memory
The show presents nine large-scale oil paintings that serve both as portraits of key figures in contemporary Vietnamese art and as abstract creations reflecting her inner transformations since resettling in her homeland.
Through this body of work, the artist raises questions about how identity is shaped at the intersection of heritage and environment, past and present, culture and context. The portraits of artists, creators, and cultural figures appear not only as witnesses of the era but also as weavers of connections between personal and collective narratives.
The oil portraits also mirror Chloé’s own journey. With Vietnamese roots from her grandmother and a life formed between the West and Vietnam, she has cultivated a distinctive practice deeply imbued with cultural exchange.
Her abstract works reveal the process of reconnecting with her origins and engaging in dialogue with Vietnamese culture, reflecting the ongoing shifts within herself.
Red emerges as the dominant color, symbolizing festivity, vitality, and good fortune in Vietnamese tradition, while evoking the ‘red thread of destiny,’ a metaphor for invisible ties between people, culture, and the self. The recurring motif of red threads embodies fragile yet profound bonds that shape her life.
With ‘Ở đây, ở đó và ở khắp mọi nơi’, Chloé aspires to open a bridge that brings audiences closer to the figures who have shaped contemporary art in Ho Chi Minh City.
At the same time, she invites reflection on the delicate but enduring connections between past, identity, and culture, the silent threads that nourish both life and creativity today.
The exhibition ‘Ở đây, ở đó và ở khắp mọi nơi’ takes place from September 12 to October 3, 2025, at the Museum of Ho Chi Minh City, 65 Ly Tu Trong, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City.
