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Known professionally as Hoai, she was born in Hanoi, raised in Ho Chi Minh City, and moved to New York at 17 to study at the School of Visual Arts (SVA).

She graduated with a bachelor of fine arts degree in 2025 before co-founding Not That Deep Gallery in Brooklyn with Sadie Withers, another international student.

The Bushwick gallery focuses on emerging and underground artists.

Since opening in late 2025, it has staged seven exhibitions featuring more than 60 artists, attracted private collectors, and earned coverage in independent art publications.

For Hoai, opening a gallery so soon after graduation was a response to the sense of community she found during art school and the loneliness she felt after leaving it.

“The community that I had in school was honestly one that sustained me the most,” she says. “Leaving school and not being able to see everyone every day after four years can feel quite isolating.”

The opportunity came unexpectedly after she and four friends rented an apartment in Bushwick.

“We discovered a separate room in our basement that was untouched and perfect to use as a space for something,” she says.

“Sadie Withers and I decided that we would turn that room into our gallery.”

Rather than wait for opportunities in New York’s competitive art world, the pair chose to create their own.

“As artists ourselves, we understand how difficult it is to situate yourself in New York’s art scene, so instead of wanting to fit in, we made something else for ourselves,” Hoai says.

She sees the gallery as more than an exhibition space.

“We wanted the space to act as a sanctuary, a place where people can gather and spend time. There is no point in being successful if you have no one to share it with.”

Alongside running the gallery, she continues to develop her own art.

Working across oil painting, clay sculpture, and mixed media, she explores the relationship between natural and handmade forms.

Her works incorporate various materials like animal hide, graphite on Indian cotton paper, and hand-built clay frames, emphasizing the physical traces left by the making process.

She said the materials themselves are central to her work.

“I’m drawn to the materiality of these mediums, how intimate and time-consuming they are. My work partly belongs to its process… I want to bring the human body back into the things we experience, to require all of our senses.”

Hoai believes her upbringing in Vietnam continues to shape her artistic perspective though she does not define her work primarily through nationality.

“Growing up in Vietnam has definitely influenced my work in tremendous ways.”

“What I carry most in my practice is the persistence, resilience and patience that I have learned from my country.”

She added that Vietnam’s history continues to resonate with her personally.

“Though I believe that the pain of war still lingers in the ground and spirit of the people… I see our perseverance through the food, the spirit, and the smile on people’s faces despite everything else.”

At the same time, she resists being labeled solely as a Vietnamese artist.

“I don’t consider my work to be strictly ‘Vietnamese contemporary art’ because I am not only depicting Vietnam.

“My work considers many intangible events, current realities of our world, and broader topics that humanity struggles under. With that said, there is no doubt that Vietnam influences the work I make.”

Hoai’s artistic development at SVA included mentorship from bio artist Suzanne Anker, who curated her senior thesis exhibition.

In 2024, she also worked as an artist assistant on Migratory Pathways, a 963-foot public mural in Brooklyn led by American painter George Boorujy.

Before entering New York’s art scene, Hoai had built a business in Vietnam.

From 2021 to 2024, she ran Hoaimakes, a handmade jewelry brand she founded as a teenager, designing, producing, and marketing every piece herself.

She says the experience laid the foundation for running an independent gallery.

She hopes Not That Deep Gallery will grow while remaining true to its original purpose.

“In the next five years I would love to see Not That Deep Gallery still standing strong.

“Maybe we will have more resources to move into a larger space … and fund more artist projects. I also see it still being a space where our friends and strangers come to spend time getting to know each other, to see art.”