SOPHEAP PICH

In 2005, Pich gave up painting altogether in favour of making three-dimensional objects, in a process that poetically simulates reconstruction. He draws his materials, primarily rattan and bamboo, wood, and stone from local grower and suppliers. The resultant biomorphic structures suggest scaffolding for as-yet unbuilt forms, their spare, organic geometries appealing to a Post-Minimal aesthetic. In addition to employing bodily references, the artist draws inspiration from landscape (Delta and Flow, both 2007) and architecture (Compound, 2011). In more elaborate constructions from the late 2000s, Pich salvaged detritus from the trash heaps of developing Phnom Penh, giving works like Junk Nutrients (2009) a mottled, rag-tag look. In a series of wall reliefs from 2012, he returns to the format of painting, rendering hybridised, abstract compositions in materials derived from his sculptural practice by infusing burlap canvases (rice sacks) with Cambodian soils for pigments, sealing them with beeswax, and setting them in three-dimensional bamboo grids. Since the start of the pandemic, he’s been preoccupied with repurposed aluminium of pots and pans that he collects and buys from local recycling depots. Using this material, he’s made large-scale works such as wall reliefs and standing sculptures and life-size tree sculptures.

His works have been collected by and exhibited in numerous museums, including the Metropolitan Museum, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, Centre Pompidou, Mori Art Museum, M+, and National Gallery Singapore.

He has been included in many international exhibitions, including the Setouchi Triennale (2022), 57^th Venice Biennale (2017), documenta 13, (2012), Singapore Biennale (2011), 6^th Asia Pacific Triennale (2009), among others.

Courtesy Tina Keng Gallery