Dao Droste (born 1952) is a

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

ese-born artist living in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. She was born in

Saigon Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) ('','' TP.HCM; ), commonly known as Saigon (; ), is the most populous city in Vietnam with a population of around 14 million in 2025. The city's geography is defined by rivers and canals, of which the largest is Saigo ...

and moved to Germany in 1971. Droste studied chemistry in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

and

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

, earning a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

. She went on to work in sculpture, painting and

installation art Installation art is an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific art, site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space. Generally, the term is applied to interior spaces, whereas exterior intervent ...

. She established her own studio in 1987. She now lives in

Eppelheim Eppelheim () is a city in northern Baden-Württemberg bordering Heidelberg. It belongs to the district Rhein-Neckar-Kreis. Geography Location and neighboring communities Eppelheim is situated in the valley of the Upper Rhine southwest of the hi ...

. Her large installation piece "Open-mindedness", which included 500

terra cotta Terracotta, also known as terra cotta or terra-cotta (; ; ), is a clay-based Vitrification#Ceramics, non-vitreous ceramicOED, "Terracotta""Terracotta" MFA Boston, "Cameo" database fired at relatively low temperatures. It is therefore a term used ...

faces, attracted international attention. As a

Taoist Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ...

, she explores the theme of mankind in harmony with nature in her art. Droste designed the statue for the One World Award which is sponsored by Rapunzel Naturkost and the

International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements IFOAM – Organics International (formerly known as the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements) is a worldwide organization advocating for organics, with over 700 affiliates in more than 100 countries and territories. Histo ...

. In 2015, she received the environmental prize awarded by the (BAUM). Her work is held in public and private collections, including the in Heidelberg, the

Federal Ministry of Education and Research The Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (; abbreviated BMFTR) is a cabinet-level ministry of Germany. It is headquartered in Bonn, with an office in Berlin. The Ministry provides funding for research projects and institutions (aim ...

in Berlin and the city of Eppelheim.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Droste, Dao 1952 births Living people Vietnamese women artists 21st-century Vietnamese painters Vietnamese sculptors Vietnamese contemporary artists 20th-century Vietnamese artists German women painters German women sculptors German installation artists German people of Vietnamese descent 21st-century German women artists Artists from Ho Chi Minh City 21st-century Vietnamese women 21st-century Vietnamese artists