Since first exhibiting in Sydney in 1992, Savanhdary Vongpoothorn has carved out an enviable reputation. Her work is keenly sought by collectors. The ideas she has developed in her finely textured abstract work commands respect from writers, critics and her artistic peers.

Savanhdary creates her delicate paintings by puncturing the surface of her canvas with pin pricks and gradually building up layers of paint from the front and back of the work. Savandhary utilises diverse elements; tartan, Laotian textiles, Buddhist mandalas, Minimal abstraction and Aboriginal art. These influences are fused on the canvas.

Savanhdary was born in Laos in 1971 and arrived in Australia with her parents when she was 8 years old. She returned to Laos for the first time in 1996 and until then, her childhood there had been 'more like a dream than a reality.' A finalist in the Sir John Sulman Prize 2016 and the Moet & Chandon art prize in 1998, Savanhdary's work is included in important public and private collections, including the National Gallery of Victoria, Queensland Art Gallery, Art Gallery of New South Wales and the National Gallery of Australia.

 [ To view Savanhdary Vongpoothorn's CV click here ]

Blocks III, 2011
coloured pencil on perforated canvas
60 x 60cm
14573