Testimonials

Volker Wissing — Federal Minister of Digital Affairs and Transport of Germany; General Secretary of the Free Democratic Party; Deputy Minister-President of Rhineland-Palatinate (2016-2021)

VOLKER WISSING

I would like to thank you for your hospitality and warm welcome in your home Boi Tran Garden. We were very impressed with your paintings and especially the beautiful garden that you have created. My companion and I really enjoyed the contented evening spent with you thanks to your presence and kindness.

William Drea Adams — American Intellectual; Chair, National Endowment for the Humanities (2014-2017); President, Colby College (2000-2014); President, Bucknell University (1995-2000)

WILLIAM DREA ADAMS

American Intellectual; Chair, National Endowment for the Humanities (2014-2017); President, Colby College (2000-2014); President, Bucknell University (1995-2000)

Dear Bem,
Thank you for the lovely dinner and the honour of spending time in the home and garden gallery of Madame Boi Tran. It was a very memorable evening and we are very grateful.
It will be certainly one of the highlights of our trip.

Thomas J Vallely — Senior Advisor, Mainland Southeast Asia, Harvard Kennedy School’s Ash Center; Founder, Harvard Vietnam Program (1989), Fulbright School HCMC (1994)

THOMAS J VALLELY

Senior Advisor, Mainland Southeast Asia, Harvard Kennedy School’s Ash Center; Founder, Harvard Vietnam Program (1989), Fulbright School HCMC (1994)

Thank I remember very fondly our meeting at your home.
Mostly, I shared respect for your pioneer-ship for making Hue's artistic rebirth a reality.

Anthony Bourdain — American Celebrity Chef, Author, Travel Documentarian

ANTHONY BOURDAIN

American Celebrity Chef, Author, Travel Documentarian

Boi Tran is a painter and something of a throwback, an anomaly, a creature from another, earlier time in the life of the onetime Imperial City. She lives in an area called Thien An Hill, in a magnificently restored compound. These traditional wooden houses were once part of the regal style, with sloped grooves to handle the rainy Hue weather. But most importantly, she features a garden at the centre which follows the eastern philosophy that all things originate from a single source and expand in all directions. She also cooks, magnificently from a repertoire of Imperial Hue-era dishes numbering over 100. Back in dynastic times, the Emperors demanded variety: in wives, of whom they would sometimes have over 100, and in food, the menus of the 19th Century Imperial Palaces boasted new dishes every night. Small, flavorful, and beautifully presented. And that culinary tradition, which gave Hue its reputation as a food capital, continues today.

Uri D Herscher — American Rabbi, Academic; Executive Committee, WorkingNation; Founding President and CEO, Skirball Cultural Center

URI D HERSCHER

American Rabbi, Academic; Executive Committee, WorkingNation; Founding President and CEO, Skirball Cultural Center

Bem, you treated us to such a joyful experience in the home of your mother surrounded by her portraits of beauty. You were a magnificent host. Your words came from your heart and entered ours and our words came from our hearts and were meant to enter yours. It was a perfect evening of companionship.

Jean-François Hubert — Senior Expert, Vietnamese Art, Christie's

JEAN-FRANÇOIS HUBERT

Senior Expert, Vietnamese Art, Christie's

Boi Tran knows that passion, this peppery spice of time, reveals the flavours of life but that the suffering which it engenders offers more slumber without night than nights without sleep. She lives and paints in her magic garden nestled on Thien An Hill in Hue, proud but comforting, where the wind frightens the centuries old pine trees, and the bashful, even prudish, flowers triumph over the rain. A place where Time's machine, this thief of joys, arrests itself... from time to time for the greatest happiness of the visitor.

There is no history without a place.
There are places without measure and histories beyond all time.
Elegant moments and secret places.
Patches of eternity and jolted thoughts.

To verify this, one must know Boi Tran.

Buu Y — Professor, the great Francophile of the former Imperial capital of Hue

BUU Y

Professor, the Great Francophile of the former Imperial capital of Hue

At different times, several art galleries have been born but not actually fulfilled and expected en masse.
How ungrateful is it?
Representing the land of cultural, art tradition and tourism and various schools, Hue has given birth to numerous talents with her famous mountain and river, and said to itself “stand up”, and gotten confidence from everybody.
One no art exhibitions have been organized with their actual sense, there would not have been any complete, conventional conformality to the land and the history.

Nguyen Trung — Vietnamese Artist, Co-founder, Young Artists Association in Ho Chi Minh City (1996)

NGUYEN TRUNG

Artist; Co-founder, Young Artists Association in HCMC (1966)

Amongst various subjects expressed in Boi Tran’s creation and passion for art, her favourite interpretation is depictions of the feminine beauty of Vietnamese women, pure maternity, and poetic nature. Currently residing on Thien An Hill – one of the most beautiful landmarks of Hue where it is known for its endless rows of evergreen trees – Boi Tran, with a sensible heart and gifted talent of an artist, fully perceives the artistic and literary beauty of nature that comes right out from her magnificent garden and then conveys that beauty most aesthetically to her works.

Trinh Cong Son — Vietnamese Musician

TRINH CONG SON

Musician

In this city there comes forth an art gallery that is bearing the heart and the yearning for beauty. This has created an indication of a luxurious gesture to the beloved people and made better an ambience within the structures, greenness of the grass and of the old citadel.
Even if small or not, this art gallery is a monument in the city; its appearance will be remembered for ever.
Returning to the old city…, to this art gallery, one feels that as he or she is coming back to see a sweetheart, who one will miss and love and never forget for a moment.

Hai Nguyen — Director, Global Vietnam Wars Studies Initiative, Ash Center, Harvard Kennedy School

HAI NGUYEN

Director, Global Vietnam Wars Studies Initiative, Ash Center, Harvard Kennedy School

In an excellent state of preservation after ages, painter Luu Ly now bequeaths his precious treasure to Boi Tran. By a mere coincidence, the Fall-Winter art class held by Than Trong Su linked to the sketchbook and eventually, returned to Boi Tran.

Luu Ly believes that Boi Tran will take on the perpetuation and introduce these profound sketches to the world.

Seetoh Kok Fye (KF Seetoh) — Singapore Food Ambassador, Mankasutra Founder, Photographer, TV Host

KF SEETOH

Singapore Food Ambassador, Mankasutra Founder, Photographer, TV Host

There was a visit to another dimension of food glory, a ride out to visit Boi Tran Garden to meet Madame Boi Tran herself, a living legend of an artist and chef. The place, the green, manicured and curated garden and yards with French and local Hue touches plus the food, served like how the Royals once ate (well almost, except we were too noisy and gushed at her platters).

My late buddy Anthony Bourdain visited and featured it before, but I had to take the mickey out of his very staid visit “Yes, hahahahaha, that’s how he was, you are on point”, said a very warm and endearing Madame Boi Tran recalling his visit. Bless you Tony, you paved the way here.

Ben Selkow — Emmy Nominated Documentary Film, Television Director, Executive Producer at HBO, Netflix, CNN, NAT GEO, Discovery Channel, PBS/World Channel

BEN SELKOW

Emmy-nominated Documentary Film, Television Director, Executive Producer at HBO, Netflix, CNN, NAT GEO, Discovery Channel, PBS/World Channel

Thank you so much for the grace, beauty and magnificence of your food and home. It's such an honour to have an actual artefact from the artist who touched me so deeply while I was there. Your grace and hospitality were so appreciated for the television scene we filmed. I know Tony and the whole were very, very moved. I was so touched by your selflessness, grace, warmth, and infinite love as a young parent it is a model for me. Having your painting in my house, and keeping an eye on my young family and I is such a gift. Thank you. I'm so lucky to have the memories of the experience with you and a tangible artefact to keep in our home.

Ngo Manh Duc (B. 1941), son of Le Thi Luu (Vietnamese, 1911-1988) born on 1 January 1941, which he enunciates as “1.1.41” with his constant smile, speaking softly and slowly which never fails to grab the listener’s attention. He was brought up in a wonderful atmosphere of painters and intellectuals (often of Vietnamese origin), and this only helped to cement the ideals and traditions of family, close friends and kinships.

Words of Architect Ngo Manh Duc, Son of Le Thi Luu to Boi Tran and Her Work of Art

Harper’s Bazaar: A Great Hue Destination

Christie’s: Women in Art from the XVI to the XXI Century

Éternité Magazine: Cloud Landing Collection by Designer Tran Thien Khanh and Photographer Tran Dinh Thuc Doan

Royal Cuisine – Cultural Interview: The Hue To Go by KF Seetoh

Anne-Solenne Hatte and “La Cuisine De Bà” or “Tasting Vietnam”

“Incubating Culture in Vietnam and Hue’s Rebirth as Vietnam’s Center of Art & Heritage” Hosted by Harvard Kennedy School, Fulbright University Vietnam and Boi Tran Garden

Ravenel: Select Modern & Contemporary Art, Vietnamese Modern Art

General Secretary, Germany Minister of Digital Affairs and Transport Volker Wissing’s Letter to Artist Boi Tran

“A Perfect Evening of Companionship” with Skirball Cultural Center Founding President and CEO Uri D Herscher

Zhang Zhi Yong — President, Shanghai Pujiang Southeast Asia Culture and Art Exchange Center where “Nguyen Trung Works” published on 26 December 2020, Mrs Zhang Jing celebrated Boi Tran's Solo Exhibition: Le Rêve Qui Veille, 26 October 2017.

Shanghai Pujiang Southeast Asia Culture and Art Exchange Center President Zhang Zhi Yong Celebrates Boi Tran’s Solo Exhibition: Le Rêve Qui Veille

Boi Tran: “Le Rêve Qui Veille” by Christie’s Senior Expert Jean-François Hubert

William Adams, chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities and a Vietnam veteran, moderates a panel discussion, “The Troops: A View from the Front Lines” on Thursday, April 28, 2016, at the LBJ Presidential Library. The panel discussion was part of the LBJ library’s three-day Vietnam War Summit.

LBJ Library photo by Jay Godwin 04/28/2016

Fine Dining Deepened in Endless Conversation with Mr William Drea “Bro” Adams and Mr Joe Boulos

Christie’s: Se Souvenir Des Belles Choses – A Curated Collection of Vietnamese Art

Cultural Exchange: The Combination of Hue Royal Refined Music and Hue Culinary Culture

Heritage Magazine: Best of Both Worlds

Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown: Vivacious in Vietnam

A Fork in Asia’s Road: The Hue Home by John Krich

Thanh Nien News: Complete Transcendence

DestinAsian Magazine: Hungry for Hue

“Thank you for opening your house to us but furthermore, your heart” – Gilbert Montagné

Travel+Leisure Magazine: Vietnamese Food – The Ultimate Food Guide

Sotheby’s: Madonna by Boi Tran

Bui Xuan Phai Sketchbook: A True Sense of Nostalgia at Boi Tran Art Gallery

Nguyen Trung’s Expression on Boi Tran’s Exhibition: I and the Call from My Within

Boi Tran, Ladies and Flowers by Nguyen Trong Tao

Asian Art News: Small and Miniature Paintings by the Masters at Minh Chau Art Gallery

Minh Chau Art Gallery’s Exhibition: Small and Miniature Paintings by the Masters

Timeout Magazine: The Divine Form

Christie’s: Southeast Asian Pictures’ Letter to Boi Tran Art Gallery in 1999

Prologue by Nguyen Trung on the Exhibition of Paintings: Hue

Prologue by Buu Y and Epilogue by Trinh Cong Son on the Grand Opening of Boi Tran Art Gallery in 1995