FREE
Auditorium

Join us for a talk by Cambodian artist Sopheap Pich. The artist will discuss his works Cycle, 2011, and Luminous Falls No. I, 2013, in the Albright-Knox’s collection, as well as a new work, Rang Phnom Flower, 2015, that is part of the special exhibition For the Love of Things: Still Life.

Sopheap Pich was born in Battambang, Cambodia, during a period of civil war. The Khmer Rouge eventually gained control in 1975, but they were toppled in 1979 by their former ally, Vietnam. At this point, Pich’s family fled to neighboring Thailand. His family remained in refugee camps until 1983, when they immigrated to the United States. In his most recent works, Pich features oblique references to his early experiences, employing the common materials of daily life in Southeast Asia, such as rattan, bamboo, burlap culled from rice bags, and beeswax.

Rang Phnom Flower is Pich’s most ambitious sculpture to date. Its form is based on the flower of the cannonball tree, called the “rang phnom,” which has strong cultural resonances within Cambodian culture. 

Learn More about the Emerging Voices in Contemporary Art Lecture Series