DANHÔO x SOMA: an artist shaped by exile puts his paintings up for auction for Cambodia’s children
Born in Vietnam in 1966 to a family of Chinese origin, and arriving in France in 1983 with nothing, DANHÔO is exhibiting in Phnom Penh until the end of December. He paints in public, auctions canvases and gives 70% of the proceeds to the Soma Initiative, which funds health, education and environment programmes in rural Cambodia.
DANHÔO paints on large white canvases. A wide brush, black paint running down the surface, signs that sit between ideogram and abstraction. Since 28 September, he has been doing it in Phnom Penh for a cause. The artist, a French national, launched DANHÔO x SOMA at the Soma Hotel Riverside, a partnership with Soma Group. An exhibition of more than twenty works runs until the end of December 2026. A charity auction goes with it. Seventy percent of the proceeds will go to the Soma Initiative.
A bond with Cambodia that predates Soma
DANHÔO is not new to the country. He has felt attached to it for several years. In Lognes, in the Seine-et-Marne department of France, he gave a performance in tribute to a Cambodian monument. He has worked with Border Samaki, the local hip-hop community and the Bophana Center. At the end of 2025, he donated an artwork to help with the border issue.
With Soma, that commitment takes a more structured form: an exhibition, a sale, a social programme to fund. Everything is aimed at the work of the Soma Initiative. Its teams run free care workshops in rural areas. They work on access to drinking water, hand out school scholarships and plant trees.
Press conference, then launch
A press conference took place on the evening of 26 September at the Soma Hotel Riverside. Kaliana Tea, Marketing and Communications Director of Soma Group, announced that the charity exhibition would be open to an exclusive group of 60 philanthropists attending in person. She added that a raffle would be held.
Hélène Lê, DANHÔO’s exclusive representative and authorised agent, then spoke: “This partnership with Soma Group represents a unique opportunity for DANHÔO to put his art at the service of a cause that is particularly close to his heart: children and education in Cambodia.” Steven Gargadennec, project coordinator and DANHÔO’s local representative in Cambodia, was also present.
What is for sale, and at what price
The centrepiece is a large canvas that DANHÔO paints live during the evening. It starts at USD 3,000. A second major work opens at USD 1,500. Twenty-two smaller canvases are offered at a fixed price of USD 300 each.
The public can also buy 24 works hanging on the hotel’s walls. Buyers will collect them once the exhibition has ended.
These prices have been adjusted to the Cambodian market. In Europe and Asia, DANHÔO’s works have previously been auctioned from USD 10,000, sometimes more. The gap is deliberate. The aim is for local buyers to be able to take part.
Where the money will go
The Soma Initiative is the social engagement arm of Soma Group. Active since July 2020, it works directly with rural communities. It organises free consultations and screening days. It funds school scholarships. It installs access to drinking water and replants forest.
Its 2026-2027 plan sets aside at least USD 281,400 across three areas. Education receives USD 104,000: 500 computers and Smart TVs are to equip 20 high schools, reaching 17,000 students. Environment receives USD 70,000: solar pumps and filtration systems will supply 120,000 litres of clean water a day to 25,000 people in 10 communities. Livelihoods receive USD 107,400: 200 women-led households will each receive USD 500 worth of tools, training and introductions to buyers. In all, 1,000 people are concerned.
The money raised at the sale will go to the 2027 programme.
Soma Group, according to the local business press, is a Cambodian group active in infrastructure, agriculture, education, hospitality and real estate. The Soma Hotel Riverside belongs to it. The group is therefore putting its hospitality network at the service of its charity arm on its own premises. Maximov Chamraen Youri, the hotel’s Operations Manager, ties hosting the exhibition to the hotel’s strategy: to grow, to become more competitive internationally and to showcase a proudly Cambodian-owned brand.
A painter shaped by exile
DANHÔO was born in Vietnam in 1966. His childhood was marked by war and hardship. In March 1983, his family left the country for France. They had taken nothing with them.
In France, he carried art materials from one studio to another. He met masters there: Robert Combas, a leading figure of French Figuration libre; Zao Wou-Ki, the Franco-Chinese painter of abstraction; and Olivier Debré. They encouraged him. In 1991, he became a full-time painter. His work has been shown in France, the United States, China and Luxembourg. His first monograph came out in 2020. Robert Combas wrote the preface.
His method starts with the ideogram. He first lays signs on the canvas. He then builds up layers of bright colour by dripping and spraying paint. The technique owes a lot to Jackson Pollock. The result is a dense surface full of energy.
DANHÔO says he grew up poor and was helped by others as a child. He wants to give back what he received. His horizon is Asia, his home region: youth, education, the sustainability of communities. He says he is grateful to those who believed in him early in his career. That, he says, is why his goals line up with those of the Soma Initiative.
The DANHÔO x SOMA exhibition remains open at the Soma Hotel Riverside until the end of December 2026.
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