Bao Vuong - Behind the Waves

Catalogue of the exhibition Bao Vuong. Behind the Waves, presented at the Musée départemental des arts asiatiques, Nice (21 April - 19 October 2025).

Bao Vuong was born in Vietnam in 1978, after the end of the war. In 1979, when he was still a baby, his family fled the country by boat, like thousands of other boat people. This sea crossing, marked by wandering and uncertainty, left an indelible mark on his family history.

Caught between two shores, between Vietnam and France, Bao Vuong explores memory, exile and matter in an approach that is both intimate and universal.

Marked by the waters of exile, the artist makes the sea a place of passage, loss and rebirth, summoning darkness to better bring forth light. This exhibition catalogue traces the journey of an artist haunted by history and the silence of those who are not heard.

Contents

Introduction
At the heart of each of Bao Vuong's canvases, the darkness of the sea unfolds.
Simone Dibo-Cohen

Bao Vuong
Biography

Behind the waves
Bao Vuong

Works on display

The promise of the horizon
Anne Maquet

Bao Vuong and those we carry within us
Louis Raymond

Bao Vuong, artist of noir fiction
Alexandre Crochet

Crossed identities
Marie Terrieux

At the edge of night
Mathieu Dufourg

Interview with Bao Vuong
Kim Chi Pho