Catalogue Than Sok "Les Formes de l'Eau"
Nous sommes très heureux de présenter ce mois-ci une exposition consacrée à l'artiste Cambodgien Than Sok intitulée "Les Formes de l'Eau" à la Galerie Lee , et dont la commissaire est Erin Gleeson. C'est la première fois que cet artiste cambodgien majeur expose en France. Nous montrerons une série de compositions "all-over" à l'acrylique présentant des motifs répétés sur toute la toile qui suggèrent l'eau sous tous ses aspects. Le titre de la série fait référence au Kbach, l'art traditionnel khmer de l'ornementation décorative, transformé par Sok en une méditation sur la nature et sa possible destruction. - 3 - 26 février 2022
Nous sommes très heureux de présenter ce mois-ci une exposition consacrée à l'artiste Cambodgien Than Sok intitulée "Les Formes de l'Eau" à la Galerie Lee , et dont la commissaire est Erin Gleeson.
C'est la première fois que cet artiste cambodgien majeur expose en France. Nous montrerons une série de compositions "all-over" à l'acrylique présentant des motifs répétés sur toute la toile qui suggèrent l'eau sous tous ses aspects. Le titre de la série fait référence au Kbach, l'art traditionnel khmer de l'ornementation décorative, transformé par Sok en une méditation sur la nature et sa possible destruction.
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3 - 26 février 2022
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The Shapes of Water
by Yves Zlotowski, January 2022
Batia Sarem Gallery is delighted to present an exhibition of paintings by the
Cambodian artist Than Sok. The Shapes of Water (Kbach teuk in Cambodian)
is a series of “all-over” 1 compositions in acrylic featuring motifs repeated
across the whole canvas that suggest water in all its aspects on a blue, green,
yellow or ochre monochrome background. A single colour suffuses each
composition. We might be looking at muddy or turbulent water, in which a
stylised representation of the flowers or animals that live in the rivers and the
sea prevails, as alluded to by the titles given to the canvasses. The water, in
each work, thus takes on the form of a snail, a hyacinth or a reptile.
In Kbach teuk, Sok represents the fauna and flora of the water as if they are
endlessly reproducing and ultimately become one with the water itself. He
thus underlines the paradoxical nature of the form of water. It does not, in itself,
have a definite form as it melds itself with that of its inhabitants. It is therefore
a form with multiple possibilities, on which Than Sok builds variations. On
some canvases, the design suggests water’s mobility and the canvas tries to
capture its movements. On others, the motifs form an overall pattern featuring
an animal such as a snail, a tadpole or a clam.
Sok’s art lies primarily in an attentiveness to the society around him. Indirectly,
it refers to the fact that the Cambodia’s main river, the Mekong, and its lakes
are polluted. So this precious water is under threat. Nonetheless, this context
is alluded to only subtly and indirectly. The political dimension is more of a
backdrop in this series. This comes more to the fore in a canvas from 2020 –
not shown here and belonging to Batia Sarem Gallery’s collection - Sok returns
to these repeated water designs but sprinkles his canvas with waste.
¹ All-over means that the composition has no centre, no starting point, no end point. It suggests the composition can extend to
infinity, beyond the edges of the canvas.
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