B.1933
Gallery
Statement
"I make my painting so that future generations can ponder on the question: How life was then and how is life now"
Artist review
Svay Ken, born in 1933, is known for telling his story through painting. Through light brushstrokes, he depicts story telling of events that occurred in his life and his family. From story telling to teaching moral conduct, Svay Ken says that he wants to capture reality for the future generations to remember what it was like then. It is a role of preserving the present and the memory of the past. From his experience of the Khmer rouges to sellers on the street, Svay Ken tells us more than his story but the social life in Cambodia.
His still life paintings are not very known yet Svay Ken shows another aspect of his talents. This is the story telling of everyday objects in Cambodia; objects that few cares to look as subject of art. He paints jars with marinated fruits, oil lamps, a pair of scale etc. Svay Ken paints these objects with harmonious colour combinations. He says that he paints these objects when he has no more stories to tell. Does art has to tell a story ?
Exhibtions
- 2003: "From the Heart", Java Café and Gallery, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
- 2002: Asian Art Museum in Singapore.
- 2002: "Visions of the Future" Reyum, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
- 2001: "Painted stories", Reyum, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
- 2001: "The End of Growth" Group residency in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
- 2000: "The Legacy of absence: a Cambodian story" Reyum, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
- 1999: Fukuoka Triennale, Japan.
- 1994: "Premier Showing" New Art Gallery, Phnom Penh, Cambodia.