Baudelaire’s flowers II

Tulip Duong was born and raised in a traditional family but forged an artistic path of her own. Having witnessed the remnants of war in Vietnam, the Doi Moi (1986) period, and the country’s transformation through globalisation, her artistic style blossomed at the intersection of history, culture, and the currents of modernity and innovation. Tulip Duong’s career features a unique combination of a mathematician, an educator, and a market analyst. Ultimately, she left it all behind to pursue her calling in art, teaching herself entirely from the ground up. Her scientific background creates a unique vantage in her methodical approach to artistic creations. She often considers a wide range of materials, topics, and methods before choosing the main themes for her works and exploring them from many different angles.

Tulip’s artworks continuously evolve and transform, mirroring the artist's dynamic personality: always striving to push boundaries and exceed limits. While her earlier works depict Hanoi in various lights and forms, her recent inspirations centre on self-expression, reimagined through an international style to reflect the traditional characteristics of the Vietnamese people who have displayed high levels of resilience, and an ability to adapt to Vietnam's cultural and socio-economic transitions.

Tulip Duong's artistic career reached a turning point when the Museum of Ethnology in Hanoi hosted her first solo exhibition, Seasons of Lieu, in 2005. In 2013, she launched another exhibition, Windows, at the Vietnam Women's Museum, which received accolades from both the public and critics. Several of Tulip Duong's works have been highly regarded and recognised, including Cat Linh Street (selected for the Vietnam Fine Arts Exhibition 2002), Flower Vase (displayed at the Vietnam Fine Arts Exhibition 2005), and four other works chosen by 20th-century Vietnamese female painters and sculptors.

Tulip Duong has showcased her art internationally at prestigious exhibitions in Singapore, the UK, Italy, and Malaysia. Passionate about bringing Vietnamese contemporary art to a global audience, she has built strong relationships with curators and art critics worldwide, including Ángela Molina.