From left to right: Bui Huu Hung (a lacquer artist), Bryan Dalton (an official of the Embassy of the United States), and artist Mai Chi Thanh, at the exhibition opening of 'Drowning = Solidity' on 28 October 1995.

‘Drowning = Solidity’ was a solo exhibition by Le Hong Thai. The artist in his early practice had been known for his abstract lacquer paintings with the employment of traditional lacquer technique on wood. In this exhibition Thai introduced to the public his experimental lacquer works on canvas for the first time, together with some of his abstract gouaches works.