Rating and value of paintings by Hom Nguyen

If you own a work by or after Hom Nguyen, and would like to know its value, our state-approved experts and auctioneers will offer you their appraisal services.

Our specialists will carry out a free appraisal of your work, and provide you with an accurate estimate of its value on the current market.

Then, should you wish to sell your work, we will direct you to the best possible arrangement to obtain the optimum price.

Rating and value of artist Hom Nguyen  

Artist Hom Nguyen is a contemporary Vietnamese artist, responsible for a body of work consisting mainly of drawings and paintings. He is French-Vietnamese. Now, the prices of his works are rising under the auctioneers' gavel.

The price at which they sell on the art market ranges from €40 to €2,148,900, a significant gap but one that speaks volumes about the value that can be attributed to Hom Nguyen's works.

He is prized above all by buyers from Hong Kong, Vietnam and France. In 2021, an acrylic on canvas entitled Portrait de jeune femme was sold for €38,000, while it was estimated at between €16,000 and €18,000. Its value has exploded in recent years.

Order of value from a simple work to the most prestigious

Style and technique by artist Hom Nguyen

Hom Nguyen is a self-taught contemporary artist of Vietnamese origin, born in 1972.

He developed his way of working without academic training, choosing to favor instinctive, free expression.

His portraits are quite monumental, and he is renowned for his large-format works, which capture the depth of human emotions. His influences are diverse, including artists such as Jackson Pollock, Hans Hartung, Georges Mathieu and Lucian Freud, his work blending abstraction and figuration.

Hom Nguyen employs a variety of mediums, using oil, acrylic, ink, charcoal, but also gouache and felt-tip pen, which are applied with brush, pen, knife or dripping.

His gestures are quite expressive, as his works are characterized by dynamic, instinctive strokes, often compared to those of street art. More specifically, he employs the dripping technique to create effects of movement and depth, reinforcing the emotional intensity of his portraits.

His aesthetic is closer to lyrical figuration, as he combines figurative and abstract elements, especially with the aim of exploring human identity.

His works address themes such as immigration, integration and the duality between the visible and the invisible. In an introspective approach, his portraits invite us to question what humans show and what they conceal.

Hom Nguyen's life   

Hom Nguyen was born in Paris on September 20, 1972, to Vietnamese parents who fled their country in the 1970s. He had a difficult childhood, as his mother became a paraplegic when he was only 6, following a car accident.

As a teenager, he dropped out of school to support his mother, working as a shoe salesman among other jobs. It was through this work that his interest in painting began.

He developed a shoe patina technique, which was later perfected in Japan with master tattoo artists in Tokyo's Shibuya district. After the death of his mother in 2009, he devoted himself fully to drawing and painting, and opened his studio in Bagnolet in 2011.

He developed an instinctive, expressive style on his own, focusing mainly on portraiture, without academic training or in a studio.

He is now recognized, his work having been shown in numerous exhibitions around the world, including Paris, Hong Kong, Bangkok and Tokyo. He creates portraits of public figures such as Michelle Obama, Édith Piaf, Aimé Césaire and Napoléon Bonaparte.

He is involved in charitable projects, notably supporting underprivileged children in Cambodia and paying tribute to nursing staff during the covid-19 pandemic. He was named Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Mérite in November 2021 for his contribution to art and society.

Focus on Portrait d'Aimé Césaire, Hom Nguyen, 2021

Hom Nguyen portrays Aimé Césaire, poet, thinker and politician from Martinique, in this work. He is depicted from the front, in a frontal, monumental pose.

The work's format is imposing. He chose a large canvas, which is typical of his way of working, and designed for direct confrontation between viewer and subject. The figure's eyes seem to pierce the surface of the painting, and condense memory, dignity and contained revolt.

The facial features are nervous and superimposed, the face emerging from a tangle of lines, scratches and hatching.

While the contours are legible, the whole remains open and fluid, like a form in the making, in keeping with the artist's habit of playing between figuration and abstraction. He superimposes layers deliberately, the face seems sculpted in the pictorial material, as if it had to appear beneath the surface.

The artist's palette is sober, the work favors dark tones (black, gray, brown), enhanced by bright whites and a few warmer accents, accentuating the gravity of the subject.

The background and body are covered with gestural marks, brush or pen marks, giving the canvas a vibrant energy. An effect of depth is also created thanks to the strokes that float between different visual layers, creating an almost three-dimensional effect.

This work represents both a symbolic and emotional significance; this portrait does not freeze Césaire as an icon, but brings him to life, inhabited, complex, a witness to an ever-present struggle. Its dimension is universal : Hom Nguyen questions the human condition through this singular face, between pain, pride and hope.

This portrait also aims to convey a certain commitment on the part of the artist. Himself a product of immigration, he inscribes in his work a dialogue between individual memories and collective history, with strength and sincerity.

Hom Nguyen's imprint on his period

Hom Nguyen is a well-known and appreciated artist in Vietnam, with critics taking notice early on. His work blends Eastern and Western influences, which today is highly appreciated by the art market. To this day, most of his works are held by private collectors.

Today, the artist stands out on the international auction scene, with his works achieving record sums in recent years.

Recognizing the artist's signature

Hom Nguyen signs his works most of the time. However, it is essential to have your work appraised to be sure of its originality. In addition, copies may exist.

Hom Nguyen signs most of his works.

Knowing the value of a work

If you happen to own a work by Hom Nguyen or after the artist, don't hesitate to request a free appraisal using our form on our website.

A member of our team of experts and certified auctioneers will contact you promptly to provide you with an estimate of the market value of your work, as well as ad hoc information about it.

If you wish to sell your work, you will also be accompanied by our specialists in order to benefit from alternatives for selling it at the best possible price, taking into account the inclinations of the market.