Patterns of Place by CNK

Curatorial Statement

Patterns of Place presents the artistic journey of Chan Nyein Kyaw (CNK), whose practice transforms the memory of place into a visual language of repetition, rhythm, and structure. In these works, the artist approaches landscapes, streets, and built environments not simply as physical locations, but as layered repositories of human experience.
Rather than depicting places in direct representation, CNK distills them into patterns—lines, textures, and motifs—that echo the unseen order behind our encounters with space. Each artwork negotiates between abstraction and recognition: familiar fragments emerge and dissolve within grids, waves, or tessellations, reflecting the way memory itself reshapes geography.
The exhibition asks viewers to reimagine how place is remembered and constructed. Are places defined by their boundaries, or by the rhythms of life that flow through them? CNK’s patterned canvases suggest that place is never static—it is lived, remembered, and remade. In this sense, the work becomes not only a mapping of external environments but also an exploration of inner landscapes, where memory, imagination, and perception overlap.
Pattern of Place invites us to look beyond the surface of location and discover the repetitions that shape our belonging. Through this lens, CNK’s practice opens a dialogue about how contemporary art can translate the everyday world into forms that resonate both personally and collectively.