Nhek Dim
Nhek Dim | |
---|---|
Born | Prey Veng Province, Cambodia | February 12, 1934
Died | December 16, 1978 | (aged 44)
Nationality | Cambodian |
Known for | Painting |
Nhek Dim (Khmer: ញឹក ឌឹម) (February 12, 1934 – December 16, 1978) was a Cambodian artist, painter, writer and composer.
Biography
Nhek Dim was born on February 12, 1934, in Reap village, Reap commune,
Subjects and Style
Nhek Dim's works – sometimes realistic, sometimes more stylized – often depict traditional Cambodian landscapes, tourist sites like
Some critics have argued that Nhek Dim epitomized the dreams of modernization of Cambodia promoted by Sihanouk in the 1960s. He used a new artistic language even when portraying traditional Cambodian scenes, “smoked and drank as he painted representing a ‘Bohemian’ ideal familiar from Sihanouk’s films,” and operated in the 1960s as an artist-businessman, offering his paintings both in his gallery and in shops selling luxury goods.[1]
Many of Nhek Dim's paintings have been collected or photographed by Lors Chinda. His publishing house published a book showing many of Nhek Dim's works.
References
- ^ Roger Nelson, “'The Work the Nation Depends On': Landscapes and Women in the Paintings of Nhek Dim,” in Ambitious Alignments: New Histories of Southeast Asian Art, 1945-1990, ed. by Stephen H Whiteman, Sarena Abdullah, Yvonne Low, and Phoebe Scott, Singapore and Sydney: National Gallery Singapore and Power Publications, 2018, 19–48 (40).
- Lors, Chinda (2001). Nhek Dim. Phnom Penh, Cambodia: Lors Chinda Art Publishers.
- Nelson, Roger (2018). “'The Work the Nation Depends On': Landscapes and Women in the Paintings of Nhek Dim,” in Ambitious Alignments: New Histories of Southeast Asian Art, 1945-1990, ed. by Stephen H Whiteman, Sarena Abdullah, Yvonne Low, and Phoebe Scott, Singapore and Sydney: National Gallery Singapore and Power Publications, 19–48.
- Vachon, Michelle. "Painting by Famed Nhek Dim Returns Home". The Cambodia Daily, March 20, 2009.