About

M I N I A D.

Minh Ngà Dang Vu (b. 1977 in Saigon, Vietnam) works primarily with acrylic paintings on canvas and mixed media. Raised by a French couple from the age of 7, while maintaining contact with her biological family, she carried the name 'Minia' to accommodate her adoptive parents' difficulty pronouncing her birth name. Exposed to both Catholic and Buddhist teachings, Minia studied art authentication—specializing in ancient and Asian art—and later photography in Paris. She resonated with movements spanning from Impressionism to Lyrical Abstraction, shaping her own distinctive vision and style. Most of her archived collections were produced while living in San Francisco, Paris, and during her travels to India. She has exhibited in San Francisco, New York, The Hamptons, Palm Beach and Miami where she is based since 2020.

From a young age, Minia felt a natural inclination toward psychology and healing modalities. In her twenties, meeting for the first time her biological father—who lived with schizophrenia—reinforced her quest for answers through self-development and artistic practice. Her art is closely connected with her personal practice of Chi Nei Tsang, a holistic healing approach developed by the White Cloud Taoist Monks in ancient China. She strives to paint the transformative energies and alchemy that occur through physical and emotional healing as we grow in consciousness.

Minia's paintings are often described as celestial, cosmic and deeply spiritual, reflecting the interconnectedness of all things and the life force of Nature. Bridging Asian symbolism with her European sensibility, she brings forward the vibrancy of impermanence through fluid forms, layered rhythms, and atmospheric color shifts, often reminiscent of pointillism, impressionism, and expressionism. Her work invites viewers to feel the constant shifting nature of perception and sense a more liberated way of breathing into existence.

Minia believes that every experience enriches her creative process. Whether tending to her organic garden, exploring new destinations, or mastering a new language, she views these activities as integral parts of her artistic journey. For her, creativity extends into every aspect of life, strengthening the connection to co-creating with the universe.

S T A T E M E N T

"Growing up between two families, cultures, and belief systems taught me early that we carry many versions of ourselves, sometimes like uninvited guests. Art became the place where I could bring all parts of myself together and find coherence. My paintings come from the ongoing inner work I’ve done to understand where I come from and who I choose to be. I am interested in who we become when layers of conditioning shed and we renew our capacity to evolve—individually and collectively.

I paint from the body first, not the mind. At times, I have a clear vision of what I want, yet when the mind takes over, the flow breaks, confusion follows. I have to let it go. Awareness, emotional digestion, and subtle internal shifts guide colors, brushstrokes and movement, until a feeling of internal balance and harmony is reached. Layers build upon each other like charged experiences, each holding something released, understood differently, or transformed. It's an organic conversation between the emotional body and this 'otherness', often leading to breakthroughs.

I trust the process like we choose to have faith in life. It is in hindsight that we are able to connect the dots. When experiences are integrated, we see the whole picture and we begin to harvest the hidden gifts. Trusting that through apparent chaos there is a coherence that serves a bigger plan.

Following our intuition and the unknown is an art. Everything is interconnected, and each step toward growth deepens the dialogue I have with my mediums. I know the work is done when it feels as if the painting is breathing through its own skin, ready to have a mission of its own. My intention is that viewers feel the visual records of this healing alchemy and find a small sense of possibility opening within them."

Minia D.