The lacquer painting exhibition entitled "Moon" by renowned Japanese artist Ando Saeko will be on display at the Japan Foundation Center for Cultural Exchange in Hanoi from September 10 to October 1 with free admission.

Japanese artist Saeko Ando has a great love for Vietnam. Photo courtesy of the artist

Based in Vietnam since 1995, Japanese artist Saeko Ando studied Son Mai - Vietnam's traditional lacquer art - under the guidance of artist Trinh Tuan, lacquer master Doan Chi Trung, and lacquer craftsman Lam Huu Chinh.

Known as "Vietnam's Lacquer Ambassador," Ando's mastery of this traditional art form led to her acceptance as the first foreign member of the Hanoi Art Association in 2000.

Throughout her nearly three-decade career, she has gained international recognition as a contemporary artist who blends traditional Vietnamese lacquer-craft skills and son mai painting techniques learned from past generations of lacquer masters with original methods developed through decades of experimentation. Saeko's work shows Zen philosophy, devotion to nature, and the influence of Japanese aesthetics.

A lacquer work by Saeko Ando will be on display at the Moon Exhibition.

All the artworks in the exhibition depict the moon in different phases, seasons, weather, time of day, and shades of color. And they are displayed next to waka poems that Saeko chose for them. She hopes her paintings will etch beautiful verses in people's hearts, awakening their precious memories or conjuring up new sensations.

Saeko Ando will also give two lectures on September 9 at 10 am (in Vietnamese) and 3 pm (in English). Advance registration is required at  https://bit.ly/AndoSaekoTalk_V or https://bit.ly/AndoSaekoTalk_E

Born in Japan in 1968, Saeko Ando is also known as a researcher in the field of natural lacquers, sharing her findings internationally through lectures, conventions and symposia.  

She created the key visual for the new opera “Princess Anio”, which will be performed at the Hanoi Opera House from September 22 to 24 and in Tokyo on November 4.

The artist now lives in Hoi An, where the energies of the rice paddies, rivers and ocean fuel her creative endeavors.

A typical work of art by Saeko Ando using Vietnamese lacquer and eggshell materials.