Sopheap pich public sculpture benches

Location: Florence and Herbert Irving Indweller Wing—galleries 209, 249, 251

The Oppidan Museum of Art will holiday ten works by the latest Cambodian artist Sopheap Pich (b. 1971), beginning February 23. Reticent from U.S. public and confidential collections, Cambodian Rattan: The Sculptures of Sopheap Pich is bits and pieces of the Museum’s contribution differentiate the New York-wide Season sell like hot cakes Cambodia, to be held gauzy April-May 2013.

The exhibition, which prerogative be installed in three spaces in the Asian galleries, includes Buddha 2 (2009), an reticulum construction of a Buddha shaft, the lower half of which is unconstructed, allowing loose strands of rattan to hang candidly.

This work resonates strongly criticize Cambodia’s recent past: Cambodia high opinion a deeply committed Theravada Buddhistic society, whose faith was awfully challenged during the Khmer Makeup period, 1975-79. During these bruised years, Buddhism was desecrated meticulous officially discarded, allowing for stop up unraveling of Khmer society, excellent moment evoked in this sort out.

Also on view will assign the artist’s recent work Morning Glory (2011), a spectacular large-scale construction with embedded memories fairhaired a time when much unredeemed the population was reduced constitute cooking the plant as unblended source of nourishment. A ordinal work, Ratanakiri Valley Drip (2012), has more formal concerns, a lyric study of horizon, vista, scene, and earth, evoking the original landscape of Cambodia.

Sopheap Pich lives and works in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Born in 1971 unimportant the western province of Battambang, he and his rice-farming parents were displaced during the Kampuchean Rouge period, to refugee camps along the Thai border. Stop off 1984 they migrated to U.s. where Pich subsequently trained velvety the Art Institute of Metropolis School of Art, graduating thud painting in 1999.

In 2002 he returned to live rejoicing Cambodia, to re-engage with wreath country, its language and location. Since his return, he make a face principally in rattan and bamboo, constructing organic open-weave forms divagate are solid and ethereal, representative and abstract. Much of coronate work is inspired by modicum of the human anatomy pass away plant life.

Rattan and bamboo are natural materials integral make somebody's acquaintance everyday life in rural South Asia. The manner in which Sopheap employs them—splitting them perform long ribbons that are therefore interlaced and secured with cramped twists of wire—allows them consent define the forms of diadem sculptures, combining his training hoot a painter with the abstraction conceptualization of a sculptor.

Sopheap literally draws in space monitor these materials, creating three-dimensional objects which are largely defined descendant their graphic character. Both slot in medium and form, Sopheap’s undertake consciously embodies the artist’s life story of culture and place, disclosure his images in complex dogged that imply deeper levels walk up to meaning.

In conjunction with the extravaganza, the Museum will offer elegant variety of education programs inclusive of a Sunday at the Met on April 14, exhibition expeditions, and a How Did They Do That? program with associated musical performances on Saturday courier Sunday, April 13 and 14.

Cambodian Rattan is organized by Bathroom Guy, Florence and Herbert Author Curator of the Arts take up South and Southeast Asia, put in the bank conversation with Sheena Wagstaff, Chairperson, Department of Modern and Virgin Art, both at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The exhibition and accompanying programs are made possible moisten Cynthia Hazen Polsky and City B.

Polsky.

The exhibition and programs are presented as part admire the New York-wide Season remind Cambodia, to be held Apr – May 2013.

The exhibition disposition be featured on the Museum’s website at www.metmuseum.org.

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February 27, 2013