Conversation with Lao-Australian Artist Savanhdary Vongpoothorn Ian Tee
Savanhdary Vongpoothorn. Photo by Brenton McGeachie.
Savanhdary Vongpoothorn is a Lao-Australian artist best known for her intricate and highly textured paintings. Born in Champasak, Laos, in 1971, she and her family fled the country and arrived in Australia when Vongpoothorn was eight years old. Her work evinces these cross-cultural influences as she combines an interest in historical art movements with pattern and language elements drawn from cultures throughout the world. In 2019, Vongpoothorn’s first survey exhibition ‘All That Arises’ was staged at the Australian National University’s Drill Hall Gallery, Canberra. Her works are included in important public collections such as the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane; Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney; the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne and the National Gallery Singapore, amongst others. In this interview, we talk about a few milestones in her life: her time in art school, motherhood, and the aforementioned retrospective show. Vongpoothorn also reflects her relationship with Buddhist scripture and recent trajectories in her work.
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