Overview
He Art Museum is pleased to present “Silent Restraint,” the first major solo exhibition in China by Cambodian artist Sopheap Pich, opening October 1, 2026. The artist continues to explore material and form, responding to his circumstances with a simple language. Lingnan and Cambodia share a hot climate and lush vegetation—a southern texture that finds an echo in his work. The exhibition features 30 works spanning three decades, ranging from early bamboo and rattan sculptures to recent works in metal and glass, tracing the artist’s engagement with substance and shape.
In 2004, Sopheap Pich turned to a new language and made his first sculpture—Silence. It consisted of two “lungs” woven from rattan. As he cut, bound, and focused on every movement of his hands, the repetitive labor pushed aside his anxieties. Two decades later, he reinterprets that work in two new forms: Silent Restraint (2025) features glass lungs enclosed within a bamboo framework, while Silence (under crushing waves) (2026)—on view in this exhibition—strips away the glass, leaving only a skeletal outline, like memory sealed in the cavity of time.
“Silent restraint” is the undercurrent that runs beneath every form Pich creates. He gathers the emotions and insights that stir within him into self-contained sculptures, while seeking infinite expression within finite limits, preserving light and breath in the voids of his structures.
When too much narrative and value judgment are attached to a work, it ceases to be art and becomes merely a vessel for knowledge. Sopheap Pich’s creations carry no manifesto and no concept, nor do they depend on any prior background. What truly moves the heart are emotions that knowledge cannot name.
Exhibition Information
Title: Sopheap Pich: Silent Restraint
Dates: October 1, 2026 – February 20, 2027
Venue: He Art Museum
Opening Hours: Monday–Sunday, 10:00–18:00 (last admission at 17:30)
About HEM
Located in Shunde, Foshan, Guangdong, He Art Museum (HEM) is a non-profit private art museum designed by Tadao Ando. HEM focuses on modern and contemporary culture and art with an international scope. As one of the first pet-friendly museums in China, HEM is dedicated to integrating art into the daily lives of community members, aiming to create an open and inclusive community art museum.
Follow He Art Museum
WeChat: 和美术馆 HEM Weibo: 和美术馆 HEM
rednote：HEM 和美术馆 Instagram：@hemartmuseum
Website: http://hem.org/ Press Inquiries: press@hem.org
In 2004, Sopheap Pich turned to a new language and made his first sculpture—Silence. It consisted of two “lungs” woven from rattan. As he cut, bound, and focused on every movement of his hands, the repetitive labor pushed aside his anxieties. Two decades later, he reinterprets that work in two new forms: Silent Restraint (2025) features glass lungs enclosed within a bamboo framework, while Silence (under crushing waves) (2026)—on view in this exhibition—strips away the glass, leaving only a skeletal outline, like memory sealed in the cavity of time.
“Silent restraint” is the undercurrent that runs beneath every form Pich creates. He gathers the emotions and insights that stir within him into self-contained sculptures, while seeking infinite expression within finite limits, preserving light and breath in the voids of his structures.
When too much narrative and value judgment are attached to a work, it ceases to be art and becomes merely a vessel for knowledge. Sopheap Pich’s creations carry no manifesto and no concept, nor do they depend on any prior background. What truly moves the heart are emotions that knowledge cannot name.
Exhibition Information
Title: Sopheap Pich: Silent Restraint
Dates: October 1, 2026 – February 20, 2027
Venue: He Art Museum
Opening Hours: Monday–Sunday, 10:00–18:00 (last admission at 17:30)
About HEM
Located in Shunde, Foshan, Guangdong, He Art Museum (HEM) is a non-profit private art museum designed by Tadao Ando. HEM focuses on modern and contemporary culture and art with an international scope. As one of the first pet-friendly museums in China, HEM is dedicated to integrating art into the daily lives of community members, aiming to create an open and inclusive community art museum.
Follow He Art Museum
WeChat: 和美术馆 HEM Weibo: 和美术馆 HEM
rednote：HEM 和美术馆 Instagram：@hemartmuseum
Website: http://hem.org/ Press Inquiries: press@hem.org