The Metropolitan Museum of Art

February 23 – June 16, 2013

Artist: Sopheap Pich
Location: Astor Forecourt, Khmer Sculpture Gallery, and Indian Exhibition Gallery,
2nd floor Galleries 209, 249, and 251

The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents ten works by the contemporary Cambodian artist Sopheap Pich.

Living and working in Phnom Penh, Sopheap works principally in rattan and bamboo, constructing organic open-weave forms that are solid and ethereal, representational and abstract. Much of his work is inspired by elements of the human anatomy or plant life. Rattan and bamboo are natural materials integral to everyday life in rural Southeast Asia, and the manner in which Sopheap employs them—splitting them into long ribbons that are then interlaced and secured with tight twists of wire on bamboo frames—derives from the craft tradition of village Cambodia. Both in medium and form, Sopheap’s art consciously embodies the artist’s memories of culture and place, informing those memory images in complex ways that imply deeper levels of meaning.

This exhibition is organized with IN RESIDENCE, the Visual Art program of Season of Cambodia, a Living Arts Festival. Presented by The Metropolitan Museum of Art in collaboration with Tyler Rollins Fine Art.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art > MAP
1000 5th Avenue
New York, NY 10028

Opening hours: Tuesday – Sunday, 9:30 am – 5:30 pm. Closed Mondays.

Above: Sopheap Pich, Morning Glory, Rattan, bamboo, wire, plywood, steel bolts. 2011, 210 x 103 x 74 in. Courtesy the artist and Tyler Rollins Fine Art.