Phnom Penh & Exhibition: Music, arts and gastronomy at the Raffles Le Royal

Last Monday, the Raffles Le Royal hotel and The Gallerist launched the very first of a year-long collaboration that will give artists from the Kingdom greater visibility on the walls of the prestigious Le Royal restaurant.

The first artist to launch the season was Frenchman Stan, who presented his latest collection titled ABSTRACTION

On the opening night, the public were able to discover the artist's latest works, all set to a musical accompaniment by the excellent guitarist Pongpat Pongpradit, who had already delighted the public at the Printemps classique, also held at the hotel.

Opening with music

The event was also the opportunity to announce the prestigious restaurant's new menu, which offers an assortment of authentic royal Khmer dishes and innovative Khmer cuisine, including versions inspired by ‘bok lahong cheamouy trei’, ‘Somlor kor ko sach chhrouk jer mouy trey’ and ‘cheam dot tuek khmom’, a whole variety of dishes that guests had the chance to try out at the opening.

For this ABSTRACTION series, Stan confides that he was inspired by his immediate environment: the jazz music he listens to while painting, the flow of traffic in the streets, walks by the river...

Live Painting at the opening

Although he admits that he prefers to paint in solitude, the artist nevertheless offered a live painting demonstration, ‘to share and get out of his comfort zone’.

Concept

When Stan started painting a few years ago, he felt the need to express something that didn't exist, without any restrictions. He didn't have a specific concept in mind, but he knew that by applying the paint to the canvas, things would start to take shape. He applied, erased and applied more layers of colour.

‘It's a kind of meditation. Abstract art is open to interpretation, which is both beautiful and disconcerting for most people. It's human nature to put things in boxes and stick labels on them. I see abstract paintings as a vehicle that takes you somewhere else, without any preconceived ideas,’ the artist explained to an enthusiastic audience.

Meditating in front of one of his works

When he starts a new painting without any particular concept in mind, Stan doesn't know where it will lead. It is as he applies the paint to the canvas that things begin to take shape, scraping, erasing, adding layers and mixing colours, creating a movement of shapes that energises the whole composition.

The ABSTRACTION exhibition will run until the end of August 2024.

More photographs of the opening here...