November 12, 2011
Courtesy Pierrette Van Cleve

For immediate release:
Renowned Cambodian artist You Khin exhibits for first time in U.S.

Rare archive of Cambodian Impressionist paintings reflect the impact of the Khmer Rouge on Cambodia and it’s people. Shaped by thirty years of displacement from his homeland, You Khin’s paintings speak to the senseless and dehumanizing violence that destroyed the very fabric of Cambodia and continues to plague generations. http://www.vcfineart.com/artists/youkhin_exhibition_theright.html
Arriving from Cambodia, the artist’s widow YOU MUOY tells their story of displacement, the genocide and the Khmer Rouge’s destructive legacy.

“I Have the Right”

California State University, Dominguez Hills

PICTURE Cultural Art Foundation
1000 East Victoria Street
Carson, California 90747
310-243-2359
http://www.pictureartfoundation.org

Exhibition dates: November 16- August 2012
Viewing hours: Monday – Thursday 10am – 5pm and Friday & Saturday 10am – 3pm

Admission is Free. Private tours are available and encouraged.

Contact:
Pierrette Van Cleve – Van Cleve Fine Art – representing You Khin
(619) 338 – 0797 pvc@vcfineart.com
Michael Johnson – Picture Cultural Art
(310) 243 – 2359 mjohnson@pictureartfoundation.org

You Khin
Woman with a Red Baby
oil, string on canvas 2008

After graduating from the Royal University in Phnom Penh in 1973, You Khin was awarded a scholarship to study at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Luminy, Marseilles, France.  Shortly thereafter, the Khmer Rouge occupied Cambodia and You became a refugee.  While living in exile, You worked in Sudan, the Ivory Coast, Qatar, and London. During this time, You’s paintings expressed his anger and sadness at the massive genocide taking place in his country.  His work abroad hinges on symbols of the Khmer Rouge’s tyranny, and weaves a human bond among Cambodian survivors.

Following his return to Cambodia in 2003, You’s paintings exposed the dire situation of Cambodian women. Often uneducated and without the support of husbands or families, these women are condemned to a harsh existence. His last paintings reflect his dream of a world without discrimination, fear or hatred.  You Khin’s 225 paintings are the only complete archive of work from this period of Cambodian history. Each canvases tells the heartbreaking story of displacement and genocide.  Histroically significant, these paintings are an important document of the artist’s interpretation of the intellectual genocide that wiped out nearly all of Cambodian society.

This collection of You Khin’s paintings are joined with the work of other artists from Burma, Laos, Vietnam, and India. All of the artwork speaks to the respective socio-political hardship in these Southeast Asian countries.  The right to self-expression is a unifying theme throughout the show.  The works convey the opinions and thoughts of artists who may face official condemnation or worse if the content of their work were to be expressed verbally in their own countries.

The hours of operation for the PICTURE Cultural Art are:
Monday – Thursday 10am – 5pm and Friday & Saturday 10am – 3pm.
Exhibition extends to August 2012.
Admission is FREE. Private tours are available and encouraged

Request for press images: pvc@vcfineart.com
Full image archive for You Khin: Van Cleve Fine Art
www.pictureartfoundation.org
http://www.vcfineart.com/artists/youkhin_exhibition_theright.html

Pierrette Van Cleve
Van Cleve Fine Art
http://www.vcfineart.com
2171 India Street, suite H
San Diego, CA 92101 USA
(619)-338-0797