Genji, a figurative painter based in Kuala Lumpur. Of mixed heritage, she has lived across Europe, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Asia, bringing diverse cultural and intellectual influences into her practice. Trained as a mathematician and engineer in France, and later working in finance while completing an MBA, Genji brings an analytical discipline to a practice grounded in observation and the human figure. Working primarily in oil and charcoal, she explores people, objects, gesture, memory, faith, inheritance, and place, with light and shadow shaping atmosphere and emotional depth. Her work has been exhibited across Europe, Asia, and South America. In 2026, she received the International Young Artist Award in Russia, was selected for the Portrait Biennale in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and presented work at the International Youth Festival. She has also participated in residencies in Colombia, and Indonesia. Her painting Harvest in the Morning was acquired for the permanent collection of the State Tretyakov Gallery in Russia. I paint because I believe creation is a gift. Faith, family, experience, struggle, and the ability to make art are things I have received with gratitude, and painting is my way of giving something back. My practice begins with looking closely at life — at the human figure, the natural world, and the relationships between them. I am drawn to what exists beneath appearance: memory held in the body, histories carried through generations, instinct, vulnerability, faith, and the marks left by experience. The objects, gestures, and environments surrounding a subject are equally important, often revealing what cannot be expressed in words. Working primarily in oil and charcoal, I use light, shadow, and material to create a sense of presence. I am less interested in simply recording what I see than in preserving something of what it means to encounter it. For Within Her, the selected works move between human and animal subjects, inward and outward worlds, strength and vulnerability. Together, they reflect my belief that every living being carries a history that cannot always be seen, but can sometimes be felt. Through painting, I hope to hold these fleeting encounters still — with honesty, reverence, and gratitude.