Khvay Samnang

  • Kapsel 10: Khvay Samnang. Popil Digital C-Print, 60 x 90 cm, 80 x 120 cm Popil is an original work commissioned by Haus der Kunst in Munich, as part of the exhibition Capsule 10: Khvay Samnang, 18.01 – 14.07.2019 (curated by Damian Lentini) Haus der Kunst, 2019
  • Kapsel 10: Khvay Samnang. Popil Digital C-Print, 60 x 90 cm, 80 x 120 cm Popil is an original work commissioned by Haus der Kunst in Munich, as part of the exhibition Capsule 10: Khvay Samnang, 18.01 – 14.07.2019 (curated by Damian Lentini) Haus der Kunst, 2019
  • Kapsel 10: Khvay Samnang. Popil Digital C-Print, 60 x 90 cm, 80 x 120 cm Popil is an original work commissioned by Haus der Kunst in Munich, as part of the exhibition Capsule 10: Khvay Samnang, 18.01 – 14.07.2019 (curated by Damian Lentini) Haus der Kunst, 2019
  • Kapsel 10: Khvay Samnang. Popil Installation view Haus der Kunst, 2019 Photo: Maximilian Geuter
  • Kapsel 10: Khvay Samnang. Popil Installation view Haus der Kunst, 2019 Photo: Maximilian Geuter
  • Kapsel 10: Khvay Samnang. Popil Installation view Haus der Kunst, 2019 Photo: Maximilian Geuter
  • Kapsel 10: Khvay Samnang. Popil Installation view Haus der Kunst, 2019 Photo: Maximilian Geuter
  • Kapsel 10: Khvay Samnang. Popil Installation view Haus der Kunst, 2019 Photo: Maximilian Geuter
  • Preah Kunlong, installation view with dancer and choreographer Nget Rady (live performance), EMST, Athens, Greece, 2017, Photos by Khvay Samnang / Courtesy of the artist.
  • Preah Kunlong, installation view, Ottoneum, Kassel, Germany, 2017, Photos by Khvay Samnang / Courtesy of the artist.
  • Preah Kunlong, installation view, Ottoneum, Kassel, Germany, 2017, Photos by Khvay Samnang / Courtesy of the artist.
  • Untitled 2011 Digital C-Print 80 x 120 cm ©Khvay Samnang
  • Human Nature 2010-2011 Digital C-Print 120 x 180 cm ©Khvay Samnang
  • Human Nature 2010-2011 Digital C-Print 120 x 180 cm ©Khvay Samnang
  • Human Nature 2010-2011 Digital C-Print 120 x 180 cm ©Khvay Samnang
  • Untitled 2011 Newspaper, Tapioca glue 24.0 x 19.0 x 5.5 cm ©Khvay Samnang
  • Untitled 2011 23.0 x 18.0 x 5.5 cm ©Khvay Samnang
  • Installation view from "Human Nature" at Tomio Koyama Gallery Singapore, Singapore, 2014 ©Khvay Samnang
  • Installation view from "Human Nature" at Tomio Koyama Gallery Singapore, Singapore, 2014 ©Khvay Samnang
  • Installation view from "Human Nature" at Tomio Koyama Gallery Singapore, Singapore, 2014 ©Khvay Samnang
  • Installation view from "Human Nature" at Tomio Koyama Gallery Singapore, Singapore, 2014 ©Khvay Samnang
  • Installation view from "Human Nature" at Tomio Koyama Gallery Singapore, Singapore, 2014 ©Khvay Samnang
  • Enjoy My Sand 2013-2015 Digital C-Print 80 x 120 cm ©Khvay Samnang
  • Enjoy My Sand 2013-2015 Digital C-Print 80 x 120 cm ©Khvay Samnang
  • Installation view from "Enjoy My Sand" at 8/ ART GALLERY/ Tomio Koyama Gallery, Tokyo, 2015 ©Khvay Samnang
  • Installation view from "Enjoy My Sand" at 8/ ART GALLERY/ Tomio Koyama Gallery, Tokyo, 2015 ©Khvay Samnang
  • Installation view from "Enjoy My Sand" at 8/ ART GALLERY/ Tomio Koyama Gallery, Tokyo, 2015 ©Khvay Samnang

Khvay Samnang is one of Cambodia’s most important artists amongst the new generation. Using many approaches such as photography, video, installation, sculpture and performance, he explores new perspectives and interpretations of history, culture and current affairs. He often deals with themes related to the Cambodian context, which, in his humanistic approach also reflects on universal themes. Fluidity, historical significance, and ongoing social and political issues around land have fascinated Khvay for many years. “If you want to learn, you must spend time, and really enjoy!” said Khvay, whose work is often filled with sense of humor. To offer signals, symbolism, and questions in many layers engaging seemingly absurd act of performance lies in the core of his artistic practice.

Khvay Samang was born in 1982 in Cambodia, and graduated from Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Phnom Penh in 2006. He has held solo exhibitions at Haus Der Kunst, Munich (2019), Museum of Contemporary Art, Santa Barbara, CA (2016), Jeu de Paume, Paris and CAPC, Bordeaux, Orange County Museum of Art, CA (2015), SA SA BASSAC, Phnom Penh (2011, 2012, 2014), and Tomio Koyama Gallery Singapore (2014). His group exhibitions include documenta 14 (2017), the Asia Pacific Triennial 8, Brisbane, Australia (2015), 4th Singapore Biennale (2013-2014), “Sights and Sounds: Global Video Art”, The Jewish Museum, NYC (2013) among many others. His residencies include TWS Creators in Residence program, Tokyo Wonder Site (2010, 2011), and Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin (2014-2015).

http://www.khvaysamnang.com

Solo Exhibition

2021 “Khvay Samnang: Calling for Rain” Tramway, Glasgow, Scotland
2019 “Preah Kunlong” and “Where is my land?” Batia Sarem Gallery, Siem Reap, Cambodia
“Capsule 10: Khvay Samnang” Haus der Kunst, Munich, Germany
“A Forest of Spirits” Nova Contemporary, Bangkok, Thailand
2017 “Where is My Land?” Sa Sa Art Projects, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
2016 “Bloom Projects Exchange Series” Museum of Contemporary Art, Santa Barbara, CA
2015 “The Pacific Project: Khvay Samnang” Orange County Museum of Art, CA
“Enjoy My Sand” 8/ ART GALLERY/ Tomio Koyama Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
“Footprints of Yantra Man” Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, Germany
“Rubber Man” CAPC, Bordeaux, France
“Rubber Man” Satellite Programme 8, Jeu de Paume, Paris, France
2014 “Human Nature” Tomio Koyama Gallery Singapore, Singapore
“Rubber Man” SA SA BASSAC, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
“Staging Cambodia: Video, Memory and Rock-n-Roll” HAU, Berlin, Germany
2012 “Newspaper Man” SA SA BASSAC, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
2011 “Human Nature” Royal University of Fine Art/ PhotoPhomPenh, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
“Untitled” SA SA BASSAC, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
“Wedding + Hair” Hotel de la Paix Arts Lounge, Siem Reap, Cambodia
2010 “Wedding” Sa Sa Art Gallery, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
2009 “Hair” Java Cafe and Gallery, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Group Exhibition

2021 “AURA Contemporary Art Foundation Collection Exhibition: Trans-local Migrants on the Water: Contemporary Art from the Mekong region” Semba Excel Building, Osaka, Japan
“Gallery Children’s Biennale” Online&National Gallery Singapore, Singapore
“Helsinki Biennial” Helsinki & Vallisaari Island, Finland
2020 “Bangkok Art Biennale” Bangkok, Thailand
2019 “In one drop of water” Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
“An Opera for Animals” Rockbund Art Museum, Shanghai, China
“Bruised: Art Action and Ecology in Asia” RMIT Gallery, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia "Borderlines" Talbot Rice Gallery, The University of Edinburgh, UK
“Documenting Change: Our Climate (Past, Present, Future)” CU Art Museum, The University of Colorado Boulder, CO
“Our Collections!” Tottori Prefectural Museum, Japan
2018 “Post Nature” (Taipei Biennial 2018), Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei, Taiwan
“Beyond Wonder – Perspectives of Utopia” Art and Design Center at Nagoya University of Arts, Kitanagoya, Aichi, Japan
“Constructing Mythologies” Edouard Malingue Gallery, Hong Kong
Taehwa River Eco Art Festival 2018, Ulsan, Korea
“SOPHEAP PICH / KHVAY SAMNANG / SHOOSHIE SULAIMAN” Tomio Koyama Gallery, Tokyo, Japan
“Animals & Us” Turner Contemporary, Margate, UK
“When animals talked to human” Travesia Cuatro Galler, Madrid, Spain
21th Biennale of Sydney, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
2017 “Le Paysage Apres Coup” Faux Mouvement- Contemporary Art Center, Metz, France
“The Pacific” Libby Leshgod Gallery, Emily Carr University of Art + Design,Vancouver, Canada
“Fleeting Territories” Kunstraum Niederösterreic, Vienna, Austria
“Documenta 14” EMST, Athens & Ottoneum, Kassel, Germany
“Political Acts: Pioneers of Performance Art in Southeast Asia” Art Center Melbourne, Australia
“The Darkened Mirror: Global Perspectives on Water” San Jose Museum, California, USA
“Human Nature” Northern Photographic Center, Oulu, Finland
“Dendromorphies : Créer avec l’arbre” Topographie de l’Art, Paris, France
“People, Money, Ghosts (Movement as Metaphor)” Jim Thompson Art Center, Bangkok, Thailand
“Currents” San Jose Museum, California, USA
2016 “The Immeasurable Here” Outlet Fine Art, NY
“Anywhere but here” Betonsalon, Paris, France
“Bloom Projects: Khvay Samnang, Footprints of Yantra Man” Musuem of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara, CA
“People, Money, Ghosts (Movement as Metaphor)” Jim Thompson Art Center, Bangkok, Thailand
“Histories of Futrue” National Museum of Cambodia, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
“Future Nature” Jack Hanley Gallery, NY
“Phnom Penh, Rescues Archaeology, The Body and the Lens in the City, Fragments & Empire: Cambodian Art from the Angkor Period” John Young Museum of Art, University of Hawaii, Manoa, HI
“Shifting Geographies” Bophana Audiovisual Resource Center, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
2015 Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT), Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia
2nd AFiRIperFOMA Biennale, Lagos, Nigeria
“I see you see me” Delhi Photo Festival, Gallery Threshold, New Delhi, India
“Architectural Landscapes: SEA in the Forefront” inToAsia: Time-based Art Festival 2015, Queens Museum, NY
“And That Which Was Always Known” Yavuz Gallery, Singapore
“Rates of Exchange, Un-Compared” Contemporary Art in Bangkok and Phnom Penh, H Gallery, Bangkok/
SA SA BASSAC, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
“Eagles Fly, Sheeps Flock” Southeast Asian Platform, Art Stage Singapore
“Prudential Eye Awards Finalist Exhibition” Art Science Museum, Singapore
“Social Engagement Artists” Tomio Koyama Gallery Singapore
“The Khmer Rouge and the consequences. Documentation as artistic memory work” Akademie der Kunste, Berlin, Germany
2014 “Swimming in Sand: Growing Rice Under an Umbrella” Multicultural Arts Victoria's Mapping Melbourne, NO VACANCY GALLERY, National Gallery of Victoria's Ian Potter Centre, Federation Square, Australia
“Phnom Penh, Rescue Archaeology: The Body and the Lens in the City” SEA Fest, Goldsmiths University of London, UK
“Looking at the Big Blue Sky” Meta House, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
“The Disappearance [Phnom Penh, Rescue Archaeology: The Body and the Lens in the City]” Center for Contemporary Art, Singapore
“Medicine to Heal: Cambodian Photography since 2000” Xishuangbanna Foto Festival, Yunnan, China
“Censorship” The 7th Move On Asia, Alternative Space LOOP, Seoul, Korea
“Rescue Archaeology: The Body and the Lens in the City” SA SA BASSAC, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
2013 “Everyday Life” 4th Asian Art Biennale, Taipei Fine Art Museum, Taiwan
“If The World Changed” Singapore Biennale
“Sights and Sounds: Global Video Art” The Jewish Museum, NY
“Phnom Penh: Rescue Archaeology” ifa, Berlin/ Stuttgart, Germany
“Out of Nowhere: Photography in Cambodia, creativetimereports.org Developments” Seventh Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2012 “Poetic Politic” Kadist Foundation, San Francisco, CA
“Deep Sea” Primo Marella Gallery, Milano, Italy
“Mondi” Dry Photo Contemporaneo, Prato, Italy
“ROUNDTABLE: You Owe Me. I Dont’ Owe You Nothin.” Tobias Rehberger Pavilion, Gwangju Biennale, Korea
“Terra Incognita” Noorderlicht Photography Festival, The Netherlands
“Current Views and Actions: Photography and Performance Documentation from Phnom Penh”
Northern Illinois Museum, USA
“new artefacts” SA SA BASSAC, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
“Between Fantasy and Reality” Contact Photography Festival, The East Gallery, Toronto, Canada
“Ruptures and Revival: Cambodian Photography in the Last Decade” Institute of Contemporary Arts Singapore
2011 “Tokyo 2010” Tokyo Wonder Site Hongo, Japan
“Between/ Myanmar-Cambodia” Metahouse, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Arles Photography Festival Night of the Year, France
2010 “Luxury Time and Space” Tokyo Wonder Site Aoyama, Tokyo, Japan
Orange International Photography Festival, Changsa, China
“Big Eyes” Sa Sa Art Gallery, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
2009 “Forever Until Now: Contemporary Art from Cambodia” 10 Chancery Lane Gallery, Hong Kong
2008 Arles Photography Festival Night of the Year, France
“Reminder” Photo Phnom Penh, Bophanna Audiovisual Center, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
“I love PP” Java Cafe and Gallery, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
“Art of Survival” Meta House, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
“Silence” Meta House, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
2007 “Menthoamada” Gasolina, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
“Spirit House” Khmer Arts Academy, Takhmao, Cambodia
“14 + 1” French Cultural Center Gallery, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
“Market” Meta House, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
“Surfacing” Sala Artspace, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
“Anon” Sala Artspace, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
2006 “Contemporary Cambodian Art Review” Sala Artspace, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
“I am leaving” French Cultural Center Gallery, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
2005 “Sowing Seeds of Peace” Mekong River Basin, Institute of Education, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
“Similar things between the Khmer and the Thai” Thai Embassy, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
2004 “Life: Student Exhibition for the 86th Anniversary” Royal University of Fine Arts, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Screenings

2018 “Living on the Edge” The Factory Contemporary Arts Centre, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
2017 “The People’s Summit” McCormick Place, Chicago, USA
“Forces and Volumes” Bophana Center, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
2015 “Videotheque Project” Arts Santa Monica, Barcelona, Spain
“Inaugural Vision Forum” Asian Cultural Center, Gwangju, Korea
“BIMI Essay Film Festival” London, UK
“Video Art Festival FOKUS” Nikolaj Kunsthal, Copenhagen, Denmark
“Inventing the Possible” Jeu de Paume, Paris, France

Nominations

2016 Future Generation Art Prize, Ukraine
2015 Han Nefkens Foundation, BACC Award for Contemporary Art, Thailand
Prix Pictet Prize
AIGA AGO Photography Prize Long List, Canada
Prudential Eye Awards, Best Emerging Artist in Asia Using Photography, Singapore
Sovereign Asian Art Prize Finalist, Hong Kong
2014 Sovereign Asian Art Prize, Hong Kong
Future Generation Art Prize, Ukraine
2013 Future Generation Art Prize, Ukraine
Prix Pictet, France

Workshop, Residencies

2017 Disarming the Gods: Think tank led by the dancer and choreographer Akram Khan, KfW Stiftung, Frankfurt, Germany
2014-15 Artists-in-residence program by KfW Stiftung, Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, Germany
2013 Residency Unlimited and Casita Maria / IN RESIDENCE, Season of Cambodia, New York, USA
2011 Creators Program, Tokyo Wonder Site, Tokyo, Japan
Between, Metahouse, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Co-Founder, SA SA BASSAC, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
2010 Creators Program, Tokyo Wonder Site, Tokyo, Japan
Co-Founder, Sa Sa Art Projects, The Building, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
2009 Co-Founder, Sa Sa Art Gallery, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
2008 Bassac Studio, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
2007 Photography: History and Training with Stephane Janin, Popil Photo Gallery, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Co-Founder of the artist collective Stiev Selapak, Phnom Penh, Cambodia

Public Collections

Institut fuer Auslandsbeziehungen (ifa, Institute for International Cultural Relations), Stuttgart
Kadist Foundation, France
KfW Bankengruppe, Germany
MAIIAM Museum, Thailand
Mainland Art Fund, Australia
National Gallery of Australia
Singapore Art Museum
The Queensland Art Gallery, Australia