Both artists are acclaimed in their home countries, each using densely woven narrative elements in their work to virtuosic effect. Bessmertny’s witty commentaries on what makes a painting are also profound disquisitions on the state of art today. Seckon’s canvases are layered with applied collage and thick impasto paint encrusting the heavily worked surfaces. Using elements culled from popular culture and everyday Cambodian stories he engages us in the history of his life and country.

This brief exhibition allows us a chance to contrast and compare the individual approaches to their work and technique, shedding an intriguing light on what is happening in painting today.