Hôtel de la Paix's arts lounge overcome by "Desire" (Cambodia)
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Hôtel de la Paix's arts lounge overcome by "Desire" (Cambodia)
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Category: Asia Pacific - Cambodia
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2010-03-11
Renowned Siem Reap gallery bar to host new exhibition by Texte de Sera
On 10 April 2010 Hôtel de la Paix’s innovative gallery cocktail bar and champion of contemporary Khmer art, the Arts Lounge, will unveil Desire, a hotly anticipated exhibition of 12 new artworks celebrating connections and creation by French Cambodian artist Texte de Sera. Stylistically indebted to abstract expressionism, de Sera’s latest work combines the emotional intensity and self-denial of the German Expressionists with the anti-figurative aesthetic of the European abstract schools; and is set to inspire another new reincarnation of the chameleonic Arts Lounge.
Located in the centre of Siem Reap, close to the cultural and historic heart of Cambodia, every aspect of style and service at Hôtel de la Paix is informed by Khmer culture, from the seasonally inspired local cuisine served at the signature Meric restaurant, to Spa Indochine’s traditional treatments incorporating local flowers and herbs. Committed to celebrating and nurturing the burgeoning Cambodian art scene, the Arts Lounge is the cultural and social heart beat of the hotel, offering an ever-changing exhibition space dedicated to showcasing the rich heritage of Khmer culture and offering a living laboratory for its creative future.
Texte de Sera was born in Phnom Penh to a French mother and Cambodian father in 1961. When the city fell to the Khmer Rouge in 1975, de Sera fled to France; aged just 13, he never saw his father again. Inspired by his childhood passion for comic books, de Sera enrolled in a school for graphic arts in France, and by 1987 had earned a ‘Maîtrise d’Arts Plastiques’ and a ‘D.E.A. d’Arts Plastiques’ from the University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne. Since then de Sera has juggled comic book work and teaching art at the Sorbonne with painting, with his last solo exhibition being held at the East-by-East gallery in Paris in 2008.
Recalling the ‘all over’ look of Pollock’s drip paintings, de Sera’s new works are composed of ink, pastel and acrylic on canvas and paper. Characterised by frenetic markings and an impression of spontaneity, yet with a clearly implied expression of ideas concerning the spiritual and the unconscious, the works are rebellious, anarchic and highly idiosyncratic. Launching at 6.30pm on 10 April 2010, the exhibition will run at the Arts Lounge until early June 2010.
Kuoni (tel: 01306 747 002; www.kuoni.co.uk) offers five nights at Hôtel de la Paix from £1,329 per person, including deluxe room accommodation on a bed and breakfast basis and return flights departing from London Heathrow with EVA Air. This price is valid for travel from 5 – 27 May 2010.
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