SASHA CONSTABLE TO EXHIBIT AT KNAI BANG CHATT IN KEP
13TH DECEMBER 2017 – 28TH FEBRUARY 2018
This month Knai Bang Chatt, the beautiful modernist boutique hotel located in Kep Sur Mer, will launch an exclusive exhibition of linocut prints by British sculptor, print maker and painter Sasha Constable - the great-great-granddaughter of the late John Constable.
December 13thCAMBODIA
When Sasha first visited Cambodia almost 20 years ago to carry out a three-week artist-in-residency, she never imagined that this troubled country would be where she would find her niche and bloom as an artist, teacher and curator. For a professional stone sculptor, the extraordinary carvings and constructions of the Angkor temples exerted a specific and powerful attraction – but other parts of the Kingdom played their role too. Constable’s work makes use of a diversity of materials and influences, allowing her to build her creations from many different starting points and perspectives. Among her many projects, in 2003, she led a Peace Art Initiative with students from the Royal University of Phnom Penh with whom she created a series of poignant, powerful sculptures made from decommissioned weapons, mainly AK-47s. She has created linocuts of iconic artists of the 60s, especially Sin Sisamouth and Ros Sreysothea, and painstakingly carved sandstone sculptures inspired by the temples and her own visions. Sasha Constable is the latest in a long line of Constable artists who has lived and worked in Siem Reap since 2000 where she opened a gallery last year. She specialises in stone carving, block printmaking and painting with acrylic. Sasha will exhibit her work at Knai Bang Chatt and will also undertake an exclusive collection for the hotel. One of the last remaining unspoilt, hidden gems on Cambodia’s south coast – Knai Bang Chatt is a chic hotel revealing Kep, a relatively undiscovered coastal destination on Cambodia’s South Coast, once the 1960’s escape for the elite. The property comprises five villas, three of which were originally of the New Khmer Architecture inspired by Le Courbusier, that have been sensitively converted to offer 18 rooms and suites. Each is individually designed and minimalist, following the Wabi Sabi Japanese tradition of finding beauty in natural imperfections. Knai Bang Chatt showcases the ‘real Cambodia’ of today through authentic cultural, coastal and rural destination experiences in Kep National Park and the surrounding region, and is the first in Cambodia to be recognised as internationally sustainable.
HOW: Rates at Knai Bang Chatt start from $188 (approx. £147) per night, room only. www.knaibangchatt.com