French–Catalan–Vietnamese artist Chloé Saï Breil-Dupont, whose Vietnamese name is Bui Khue, is presenting nine large-scale oil paintings in her first solo exhibition in Ho Chi Minh City, blending heritage, emotion, and art.

Entitled 'O Day, O Do va O Khap Moi Noi' (Here, There, and Everywhere), the exhibition brings together portraits of figures from Vietnam’s contemporary art scene the artist feels connected to, alongside abstract works that reflect her inner transformation since returning to live in her homeland.

Through this exhibition, the artist aims to build bridges and offer an intimate vision of figures who, while being deeply rooted in their own histories, help shape the narrative of the contemporary art scene in Ho Chi Minh City.

The oil portraits presented also reflect the personal journey of the artist, who grew up between two worlds: the West and Vietnam.

“It's something kind of hard to explain and that's why I paint,” Chloé Saï Breil-Dupont told Tuoi Tre News at the Friday opening of her exhibition at the Museum of Ho Chi Minh City, when asked about the transformation she has experienced while living in Vietnam.

“I experimented with a different idea of my conception of life and how I want to live my life.

"Being in contact with my Vietnamese roots has also pushed me to align with my values.

“I feel that I'm very close to some values, like family, friendship and a lot of things that I found here.”

'I am here, but also there'

Born in Paris in 1990, Chloé Saï Breil-Dupont traces her connection to Vietnam through her grandmother, who expressed pride upon seeing her granddaughter speak Vietnamese in a clip promoting the exhibition.

“The exhibition title is inspired by a saying that my Vietnamese grandmother often utters: I am here, but also there. It means: the body is in one place but the heart is also somewhere,” the artist said in the video.

“I find this title very fitting because the exhibition speaks of attachment, tenderness, change, movement, and the feeling my heart can be in many places at once.”

For Breil-Dupont, the exhibition is a tribute to the part of her family that led her to Vietnam, as well as her journey elsewhere.

She believes her path as an artist is inseparable from the diverse origins she carries and the personalities she has within her family.

For Chloé Saï Breil-Dupont, her grandmother’s words ‘I am here, but also there’ became a definition of love: staying in one place while carrying deep tenderness for another.

The artist started her works in Vietnam last year after arriving in Ho Chi Minh City with the support of Villa Saigon, an art residency program that provides logistical and financial support to artists who are either French nationals or living in France, with the aim of fostering artistic dialogue between France and Vietnam.

“I have lived in several countries before, and I ended up in Vietnam because I have part of my family here,” Chloé Saï Breil-Dupont said.

“I reached a time in my life when I wanted to be closer to them and also to reconnect with a part of my roots and to learn the language better.”

Chloé Saï Breil-Dupont studied at the Beaux-Arts in Biarritz and Annecy, and later philosophy at PUC University in São Paulo.

She has exhibited her works across Europe, the U.S., and Brazil.

In 2021, she earned recognition as one of the three laureates of the Jean-François Prat Prize.

The 'O Day, O Do và O Khap Moi Noi' exhibition will run through October 3 at the Museum of Ho Chi Minh City at 65 Ly Tu Trong in Saigon Ward.