Gong Hei Fat Choy! 恭喜發財

Apologies for the delay in posting about the World Congress on Art Deco that took place in Paris last October! I can’t believe it’s been that long!! But Chinese New Year seems to be the perfect time to fill you all in on what’s been going on lately. (And it’s my niece’s year! She’s a Wood Horse)

So I decided to fly to Paris several days before the Congress which started Sunday, October 20, 2025. I flew in Thursday stayed with Coumba’s family for a few days as I got over the jet lag. They live close to the airport just outside Paris. My mother, Gayook had stayed with them, fulfilling her dream to live in Paris before she passed. I wanted to meet the family she spoke about so warmly! From the moment I arrived, they welcomed me as if I were their own. Over tea at the dining room table they told stories about my mother, where she went, what they did together. It felt like I was gaining a small piece of her back. And to top it all off, Coumba’s mom is an amazing cook!! She always fed me more than I could eat!

On Friday, I took the Metro into Paris to meet my friend Fu Ji. I had met Fu in Paris in 2013 at a symposium on global architectural exchange where Jeff Cody spoke for the first time about my grandfather. Fu had generously helped translate some of my grandfather’s writings and paintings. We kept in touch over the years. She later wrote her senior project at Smith College on my grandfather and his contemporaries and I had the honor of lecturing at her school.

We met at the Musee D’orsay where she runs tours in Chinese. I was delighted to have my own personal guide! As we walked through the galleries, I couldn’t help thinking about how far we had both come since that first meeting in Paris. Back then we were students orbiting my grandfather’s legacy. Now she is guiding visitors through masterpieces, a wife and mother and I was standing in my mother’s favorite museum for the first time! We had lunch in the museum’s café beneath the great clock, lingering over conversation as the afternoon light filtered through the glass. It was more than catching up; it was witnessing the quiet unfolding of time.

Afterward, I crossed the Seine and wandered into the Tuileries Garden imagining my mother sitting there meditating and soaking up the view. I tried to picture what she might have felt, the stillness, the gratitude, the sense of being exactly where she was meant to be. I wished I could have texted her a photo that said, “I finally made it!”

On Saturday I was able to meet with 2 other friends for a Chinese dinner of all things! I had first met Françoise and Bénédicte during my very first trip to Paris in 2013. Back then, everything felt new and slightly overwhelming. None of us could have known that our introduction would grow into years of collaboration and friendship.

Later that October we worked together on the Cité de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine exhibition, “Art Deco style Made in France,” . I remember the excitement of seeing the exhibition come to life. Our collaboration didn’t end there. We later partnered in Hong Kong, bridging Paris and Asia through architecture and design just as my grandfather had done in his own time. As we lingered over dinner we spoke about the possibility of bringing my grandfather’s solo exhibition to Paris. The idea felt like something quietly meant to be, his work returning to the city that had woven itself so deeply into our family narrative.

This was more than a visit to Paris. It felt like I was stepping into the spaces my mother had loved, reconnecting with the people who held her close and witnessing how my grandfather’s legacy had quietly woven itself into friendships across continents. Even before the Congress had begun, I felt joyful and profoundly grateful.

More to come…