Visitors are watching the paintings/Photo by: Koam Tivea
On Thursday, February 25, 2010, I’ve visited an art exhibition at REYUM INSTITUTE with some of my classmates. “Dept of Hope” is the topic of this exhibition which started from 25 February, 2010 to 08 April, 2010. During this occasion, 22 beautiful paintings by artist Chhim Sothy are showing there. So far, he has exhibited his artwork in many exhibitions in Phnom Penh, Vietnam, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, France and the US.
Chhim Sothy said that he had been working on this series of 22 paintings for more than 2 years and had tried to find quiet moments and spaces to do this but it was not easy. Each one of these paintings has meanings about nature and human beings, and he also tries to work with traditional themes and motifs while using mixed media and contemporary arts techniques.
His hope is that other artists get inspiration from his work and dare to explore traditional topics in a contemporary way. He himself has been trained in traditional painting techniques.
Chhim Sothy was born in Kandal Province in 1969 and he studied traditional painting, poster design, and modern painting at the Department of plastic Arts, Royal University of Fine Arts from 1985 to 1996. He is the deputy director of the Department of Fine Arts and Handicrafts at the Ministry of Culture.
Exhibition on the topic “Dept of Hope” is part of Reyum’s ongoing efforts to provide a platform for artists to get exposure, thus encouraging them to continue their creative work. This exhibition get the support from THE ROCKEFELLER FOUNDATION, THE ALBERT KUNSTADTER FAMILY FOUNDATOIN, and THE PRINCE CLAUS FUND.
Written by: Dara Saoyuth
Written date: 04/03/2010
Related post: Chhim Sothy Paintings Price List
REYUM Institute Website: www.reyum.org