(Nourishing the Mind (80×120) 2023 18k by Lim Khim Katy)
Toriizaka Art is honored to present internationally acclaimed artist Lim Khim Katy, painting in the gallery from September 17-23. A Cambodian-Vietnamese painter with more than two decades of experience, Katy is celebrated for her figurative works that capture the resilience of everyday life as well as her vibrant landscapes that radiate tranquility and imagination. Her art has been exhibited worldwide in prestigious museums and galleries across Asia, Europe and North America, earning her numerous awards, permanent collections and an international reputation for technical mastery and emotional depth.
Katy’s early works chronicled the struggles of the rural and urban poor in Vietnam, but in recent years her focus has shifted to warm family scenes and colorful landscapes inspired by her time in both Asia and the United States. With fine brushwork, masterful use of color and a deep emotional resonance, her paintings balance realism with poetic vision. Now newly immigrated to the U.S., Katy brings her extraordinary talent and fresh perspective to Sisters, offering viewers an exhibition that promises beauty, peace and inspiration.
We will also be unveiling five new wood-burn and mixed media figurative works by Ngo Van Sac, an artist celebrated for his ability to transform natural wood into powerful, multidimensional compositions. Using wood burning, collage and paint, Van Sac begins with a raw wood panel, allowing its natural grain to guide his vision. From there, he sketches, torches and layers collage elements before finishing with paint — resulting in works that are both technically masterful and deeply expressive.
Central to his art is the use of Hanzi scripts with profound personal significance. When Vietnam’s written language was modernized under French colonial rule, Van Sac’s grandfather — a poet, philosopher and professor — was ordered to burn his original manuscripts written in Hanzi. Instead, he secretly buried them, preserving a family and cultural legacy that Van Sac now reawakens in his art. By incorporating these once-forbidden manuscripts into his works, Van Sac not only honors his grandfather’s defiance but also bridges past and present, history and creativity.