Phnom Penh & Exhibition: Nak Noy's worlds move into Malis
Malis restaurant on Norodom Boulevard has hung Nak Noy's paintings on its walls. Entry is free, for diners and passers-by alike. On opening night, the artist painted live among the tables.
Malis is not quite like other restaurants. It opened in 2004 as the capital's first fine-dining Khmer restaurant. Its name means "jasmine". Guests eat around a water courtyard planted with lotus. Now they can look at paintings too.
The restaurant is hosting an exhibition of Nak Noy's work. The paintings hang in the dining rooms at 136 Norodom Boulevard. The visit is free and open to everyone. For Malis, it extends what the house has stood for at the table for more than twenty years: Cambodian culture and identity.
A brush between two cocktails
On opening night, Nak Noy sat on a wooden chair, palette on his knees, facing an easel. Around him were guests, high tables and the lit bar. He kept painting while the evening carried on.
The canvas he was working on is worth a closer look. A figure with a pale blue face stands above rice fields and hills. Its costume opens like butterfly wings, orange and turquoise, covered in raised patterns. Bare branches form a crown on its head, and birds perch there, hornbills among them. In the middle, a nest holds a blue sphere that recalls the Earth. A small round window in the figure's chest shows a golden origami crane.
A pangolin in grey
On a dark red wall, another work shifts register. Painted almost entirely in shades of grey, it shows a woman in profile under a heavily ornamented headdress. She holds a pangolin curled into a ball. Only a red glow behind her face breaks the monochrome.
The pangolin and the hornbill are both threatened species in Southeast Asia. Their presence is no accident. On the panel hung beside the painting, the artist explains that Cambodia's wildlife and landscapes run through much of his work.
Born in Siem Reap in 1999
Nak Noy was born in Siem Reap in 1999. He started drawing as a child, after admiring his sister's drawings. When he wasn't drawing on paper, he painted the walls of the family farm. His parents did not like the idea of an artist's career. He had to save money to buy his materials. He sold his first drawing for 100 dollars at the age of 15.
He calls himself self-taught. He did enrol in an art school, but Covid closed it after a month and a half.
His style is easy to spot. Lavish costumes, jewellery, small beads painted in relief, symbols laid down in layers. He often paints strong women and names his mother and sisters as his models. The ornaments, he says, carry his ideas of independence and inner beauty.
From Rosewood to Malis
He already has a solid track record. In June 2022, the Hyatt Regency Phnom Penh hosted "Kingdom", his first solo show in the capital, organised with Tribe Art Cambodia. In 2023, Rosewood Phnom Penh put one of his works, "The Pearl of Asia", on bottles produced for the group exhibition "Diamonds are Forever". Raffles Grand Hotel d'Angkor showed him alongside other Khmer painters. In August 2024, he presented "Mother Earth" at Plantation Urban Resort & Spa, a series on his bond with his mother and sisters. He has also taken part in group shows in London and Paris.
At Malis, the setting is different. No white gallery walls, but wood panelling, lanterns and the sound of evening service. The paintings can be seen before dinner, after it, or just in passing. No table booking is needed to come in.
Saturday nights: Khmer Heritage Night
The exhibition coincides with the return of Malis's Khmer Heritage Night. Every Saturday, from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm, the Phnom Penh restaurant devotes its evening to Khmer heritage, with music and traditional performances.
The two overlap. Guests dine to live music, under Nak Noy's paintings. It is a good time to see his work, on an evening when the house puts Cambodian culture centre stage.
Practical information
Nak Noy exhibition, Malis Phnom Penh, 136 Norodom Boulevard. Free entry.
Khmer Heritage Night: every Saturday, 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm, at Malis Phnom Penh. Reservation required.
Reservations: Malis Phnom Penh, +855 (0)15 814 888 (@MalisPP). Malis Siem Reap, +855 (0)15 824 888 (@MalisRestaurantSR). Malis KTI Airport, +855 (0)15 416 888 (@MalisRestaurantKTI).
The artist on Instagram: @naknoy.
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