Trinh Cam Nhi is a Vietnamese painter based in Hanoi. Exploring the intricate world of botanical forms as the manifestation of different states of being, Nhi looks at painting as the never-ending circle of give and take. Catching invisible forces that pass through her: through painting Nhi recognizes herself and her place in the world. Trinh Cam Nhi’s early works (Garden of Unknowing, Casa Italia, Hanoi, 2020) feature dynamic depictions of flowers and female figures that merge and transform into one another. Drawing from her adolescent experiences and five years of studying painting in Italy, flowers appear distorted and alienated, beaming with a sense of unknown sexuality.

Since 2022, Nhi has found rhythm, care, and nurturing through painting the grid composition: the repetitive action of painting each square is a long inhale; the organic form that emerges is the releasing exhale. Painting has become a ritualistic practice in which the body leads and the mind follows.

Now, moving from solitude to dialogue with others, Nhi’s practice shifts toward the expression of human emotion in its rawest form. This shift is marked by the correspondence project “Hanoi, June 2024,” created with artist Ha Ninh Pham. Art-making is no longer just about internal recognition of the self, but about the shared resonance between the artist’s personal mythology and collective experience.