Andrew Hem is best known for his paintings, but he has a lesser-known history with murals as well. The child of Cambodian immigrants, born while his parents were in the process of fleeing the repressive Khmer Rouge regime, Hem originally became interested in art due to his teenage fascination with graffiti.
Andrew Hem is best known for his paintings, but he has a lesser-known history with murals as well. The child of Cambodian immigrants, born while his parents were in the process of fleeing the repressive Khmer Rouge regime, Hem originally became interested in art due to his teenage fascination with graffiti. It was only later, when his interest in drawing led him to seek a degree at Art Center College of Design, that he moved more into the world of painting. His oil and acrylic paintings focus on lifelike human characters within fantastic landscapes filled with bright colors. Hem’s contribution to the 2013 Richmond Mural Project combined his earlier graffiti-based work with the characters and colors from his paintings, and the resulting images were a great document of Hem’s artistic growth. He’s taking things to the next level. We spoke to Hem while he was in town, learning about his impressions of the current street art scene, as well as his fear of heights.
