Hom Nguyen French, b. 1972
French-Vietnamese artist Hom Nguyen was born in Paris in 1972. His mother, a Vietnamese refugee, arrived in France in the early 1970s, where she settled and worked in hair salons. Hom grew up in modest circumstances, raised by a strong maternal figure who instilled in him the values of courage, resilience, and dignity.
From a young age, he developed a heightened sensitivity to the world around him. He often speaks of a childhood marked by unpredictability, where he learned to navigate everyday challenges. Very early on, he adopted an inner stance of determination, striving to give meaning to hardship and to build a life filled with color and hope. For him, moving forward became an act of faith—a personal discipline inspired by the desire to make the woman who raised him proud. Although his path didn’t initially follow an artistic direction, he carried within him a deep and persistent creative energy. Encouraged to pursue a stable job to improve their living conditions, he set aside his artistic aspirations for a time. Yet, a powerful inner drive pushed him to eventually express what had long been stirring inside him.
The year 2009 marked a decisive turning point. Hom felt a deep urgency to create, to release emotions that had been building for years. From that moment on, art became his lifeblood. He threw himself into it with passion and determination, driven by love for his family and an unyielding will to fully realize himself. His work centers primarily on the creation of monumental portraits. Through dynamic gestures, rich textures, and bold use of color, Hom Nguyen explores the depths of the human soul. His pieces examine the tension between appearance and essence, between what is visible and what remains hidden. They invite viewers to reflect on identity, emotion, and the contrast between what we reveal and what we conceal.
As a committed artist, Hom Nguyen takes part in numerous humanitarian initiatives, including support for the Secours Populaire, sick children at the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, the Children of the Mekong foundation, and the Maison de la Femme in Saint-Denis. In 2021, he was named a Knight of the National Order of Merit—an honor that recognizes both his artistic talent and his social engagement.