Our Art Ambassadors

Asian Art Bridge works actively with Art Ambassadors specialized in the Asian Art world. They are Art Historians, Collectors, Public servant for Asian Art museum (Guimet museum, Cernuschi museum), Asian Art Curators...

Loan de Fontbrune . Credit: Tatler 

 

Loan de Fontbrune plays an important role in research, conservation and development of Asian Art, especially Vietnamese modern art in France and Europe. 

We invite you to refer to the books that Loan de Fontbrune has diligently researched and published.

Publications: 

• 1994 The Tombs of Huê, Connaissance des Arts, n° 504, March 1994, pp. 124-135.
• 1995 The Blues of Huê from the beginning of the 18th to the 19th century, Vietnam of the Kingdoms, Editions Cercle d’Art, Paris 1995, pp. 38-45.
• 1996 Huê ceramic from 17th to 19th century – Nhung trao dôi hoc thuât, Nha Xuât Ban Thuân Hoa, Huê, tr. 114-119.
• 2003 Vietnam – Art and cultures from prehistory to the present day, Snoeck editions, Brussels, (translation of the texts of Phan Huy Lê, pp. 15-32, Trân Quôc Vuong, pp. 179-189, Nguyên Van Huy and Luu Hung, pp. 211-225).
• 2012 Victor Tardieu and his students, From the Red River to the Mekong: visions of Vietnam, PARIS Museum, Findakly editions, pp. 75-116.
• 2014 “Four centuries of France-Vietnam relations”, The art schools of Indochina, Mondes et Cultures magazine, Bulletin of the Overseas Academy of Sciences.
• 2015 The first photographers in Vietnam, Riveneuve editions, 426 p.
• 2019 The influence of French artists in Vietnam, Mondes et Cultures magazine, Bulletin de l’A.S.O.M., Volume LXXIX, Bulletin de l’A.S.O.M., pp. 86-95.

Nicolas Henni-Trinh Duc 

Nicolas Henni-Trinh Duc is a Franco-Vietnamese art historian and researcher specializing in Vietnamese art, particularly artistic practices related to the colonial period, the Nguyễn dynasty, and ancestor worship. His work focuses notably on ancestor portraits, representations of family memory, and cultural exchanges between Vietnam and the West.

He regularly contributes to exhibition catalogues, auction houses, and publications dedicated to modern and contemporary Asian art. His research highlights sometimes-forgotten Vietnamese artists as well as the evolution of Vietnamese visual identity between tradition and modernity.

From 2021 to present

Vietnamese Art Consultant (Adam’s, Cabinet Ansas Papillon & de Léry, Gauchet Arts Asiatiques, Millon, Sotheby’s, etc.)

Research & Publications

Exhibition Review: Lê Phổ, Mai-Thu, Vu Cao Dam: Pioneers of Modern Vietnamese Art (2026)
Article published in the Journal of Vietnamese Studies, Vol. 21, Issue 1.
This critical review revisits and evaluates the strengths and limitations of the Cernuschi Museum exhibition (Oct. 2024 – May 2025).

Images of Memory: Insights into Contacts between Vietnamese Art & Ancestor Worship (2025)
Article published in ARTIFACT No. 2. | VAC ART
Studying the last century of Vietnamese art, the article explores how and why artists drew inspiration from ancestor worship in both modern painting and contemporary installations.

Cross Perspectives on the Imperial Court of Huế (2025)
Roundtable discussion, Asian Salon, Sorbonne University / CREOPS / Musée du quai Branly.
Moderator of a discussion with curators on the challenges and advances in Vietnamese studies research.

Portraiture in Vietnamese Art: Evolution of Uses, Techniques, and Iconography (2025)
Doctoral dissertation, Sorbonne University / CREOPS.
This study examines the ubiquity of portraiture and seeks to demonstrate the existence of a long-standing portrait tradition in Vietnamese art. It focuses mainly on developments during the Nguyễn dynasty (1802–1945), while also considering earlier and later periods, from 7th-century Buddhist statuary to 20th-century revolutionary martyr figures.

From Ancestor Portraits to Modern Painting: Journey of a Canonical Formula (2025)
Conference, Cernuschi Museum, Paris.
Held in conjunction with the exhibition dedicated to pioneers of modern Vietnamese art in France, this presentation studies the iconography and context of ritual portraiture to understand its adoption by the founding artists of a new school of painting.

On the “Portrait of My Mother” (2025)
Article published in SÈVE No. 3.
Analysis of the aesthetic and political dimensions of Nam Sơn’s painting, a major work presented in the Indochinese Pavilion at the 1931 Colonial Exhibition.

Vietnamese Portraiture and Its Cultic Dimension (2023)
Roundtable discussion, Asian Salon, Sorbonne University / CREOPS.
As part of a discussion on portraiture in East Asia, this intervention explored the role of ancestor portraits within the ritual system of ancestor veneration.

An Icon of Modern Art Presented for the First Time in 90 Years (2023)
Conference, Art Research Paris.
The rediscovery of a major Vietnamese painting provided an opportunity to reassess its historical importance for both Vietnamese art and modern art in general, considering various technical and iconographic influences.

Portraits in Vietnamese Art: Instruments of Worship or Collectible Objects? (2020)
Article published in the Carnet de l’École Doctorale Histoire de l’Art et Archéologie 124.
The 1930s marked the emergence of modern Vietnamese art on the international stage. This article examines how Vietnamese portraits were perceived by the Parisian art market at the time.

Migration & Narratives of Otherness (2020)
Roundtable organized by Sorbonne Nouvelle / M2 CIIP.
Public discussion on approaching otherness through the prism of the migratory experiences of non-white individuals. Presentation of the methods applied to study a culture that is both intimate and foreign to him.