A Labor Of Love With Vietnamese Lacquer Painting

A longtime resident of Hanoi, Japanese artist Saeko Ando specializes in Son Mai, the art of tradi­tional Vietnamese lacquer painting. VietnamCP catches up with Ms. Ando to learn about her passion for lac­quer painting[/caption]

VietnamCP: When and why did you first come to Vietnam?

Saeko Ando: I came to Vietnam in 1995 as a tourist. I was actually on my way to Bali, where I had planned to settle down to do my art works. I used to work as a flight attendant for Japan Airlines before becoming an artist. During that time I read an article about Vietnam in Japan Airlines’ inflight magazine. The article made a great impression and 1 had a strong desire to visit the country ever since.

VietnamCP: As well as painting with lac­quer, you offer classes in traditional Viet­namese lacquer painting. Could you please explain a bit about the history of Son Mai and what the process entails?

Saeko Ando: The history of Son Mai dates back to 1925, when the first art school in Vietnam, L’ Ecole des Beaux­Arts de L’Indochine, was founded in Hanoi. The art of Son Mai was born as a result of cooperation between artists and lacquer craftsmen.

Although I use a traditional material, Son Ta, Vietnamese natural lacquer, and incorporate traditional lacquer craftsman­ship with modern painting techniques, I see Son Mai as contemporary art still under its development.

Lacquer is the material that Asian people have been using for thousands of years. Natural lacquer is a living material that contains enzymes and hardens through a chemical reaction with mois­ture in the air. Only humid conditions en­able rapid hardening. By understanding humidity and the condition of the lacquer the artist can gauge the outcome. Timing is crucial. Artists apply complex layers of lacquer with different colours, thick­nesses and textures and use a variety of materials such as gold, silver, egg shell, etc. Then it is sanded flat to bring under­lining layers back to the surface just like stratums of earth. The sanding process creates delicate and yet very dramatic ef­fects. This is why it’s called Son (lacquer) Mai (sanding).

. This gives each Son Mai piece its own character. I like care­free brush strokes. I like freehand lines rather than perfect even lines. I like to feel and imagine how the artist did their work. I like a human touch.

People look at my Son Mai pieces and they always can tell that the artist is not Vietnamese. It’s the colours. It’s the composition. It’s the subject of the paintings. There are many aspects that make my Son Mai different from those of Vietnamese artists. What’s interest­ing about art expression is that you al­ways see the personality and cultural background of the creator.

The fact that I enjoy creating small pieces is also because of me being Japan­ese. In Vietnam, artists seem to believe that the bigger the painting the better. We Japanese like to see the whole universe in something tiny, just like a bonsai plant.

What inspires you to keep painting?

Saeko Ando: When I see something amazing, I always think: “How can I capture that on my paintings with Son Mai. How can I enhance the beauty even more than in real life? As long as I see things that are beautiful, I will never lose inspiration to create Son Mai.

Thank you.

A Labor Of Love With Vietnamese Lacquer Painting
First post at: Vietnam Culture