A dusty tuk-tuk ride, a dark iron gate, a glass of homemade iced tea brewed to exactly the right strength: that's how a visit to Channy Chhoeun begins — the Seazen Cover Artist of the Summer 2026 edition. In luminous colors, the 38-year-old Cambodian captures what he loved as a child and watches disappear as an adult. Seazen writer Manuela Imre met him in his studio on the outskirts of Siem Reap.
Whoever comes is first offered hospitality: cold drinks, a plate of Khmer sweets, the curious stares of the two dogs, Peanut and Digo. Then comes a lesson in lotus folding — Channy’s “favorite meditative pastime.” Gently lift the outer layer of petals, fold each one in half, tuck the tip under the crease. In Manuela Imre’s hands, the delicate pink blossoms turn out rather shapeless. Channy smiles. He’s right all the same: the folding calms you, the city’s heat shock fades. Only then do you head into the studio.
Channy Chhoeun was born in 1988 in Battambang, in northwestern Cambodia. When he was ten, the family moved into unbroken jungle to clear land. No school, no market, no water — but tigers, snakes and wild boar. With no paper or brushes, the boy drew in the sand with sticks; every morning his mother swept a smooth patch clear for him. In 2006, his father secretly enrolled him at “Phare Ponleu Selpak,” one of Southeast Asia’s best-known social arts projects. There, the boy who painted in the sand became an artist.
Today he ranks among the country’s best-known emerging artists. He works in acrylic on canvas, in saturated colors and a fine realism that faintly recalls medieval manuscript illumination. Peacocks, kingfishers, the yellow rumduol blossom, apsara dancers — motifs rooted deep in Khmer mythology. Behind the beauty, though, lies a warning. In works like “Red Zone,” “Silent School” and “Bait,” Channy shows what deforestation, plastic and the pandemic leave behind, without wagging a finger and without overplaying the drama. The comparison to the American nature painter John James Audubon comes up often. Channy nods in agreement.
How that path produced an artist whose works now hang in private collections in New Zealand, the USA, Britain and Switzerland — that’s the story Manuela Imre tells in the current Seazen Summer 2026 edition. With photographs by Joseph Brady, examples of his work, and the full story behind the cover.
Further information:
Channy Chhoeun – Siem Reap Studio
Visits by prior arrangement. The studio sits in a quiet neighborhood not far from Wat Athvea temple, about 20 minutes by tuk-tuk from the city center. Visitors are welcomed with homemade iced tea, Khmer sweets and — depending on the day — a lesson in lotus folding. www.channychhoeun.com · [email protected]
Phare Ponleu Selpak
Founded in 1994, the NGO in Battambang offers children and young people from difficult backgrounds free training in visual arts, music, theater and circus. One of Southeast Asia’s most important social arts projects — and the place where Channy Chhoeun became an artist. www.phareps.org
Phare, The Cambodian Circus
The stage arm of Phare Ponleu Selpak. Nightly performances in Siem Reap in which Cambodian stories are told through acrobatics, live music and theater. Proceeds flow back to the school in Battambang. www.pharecircus.org
Cover Artwork Summer 2026
Ruom Duol
“Bait,” acrylic on canvas. A kingfisher pulls a barbel from the water on a fishing line — Channy’s comment on the exploitation of natural resources.
© Channy Chhoeun
© Joseph Brady
