T  H  E    A  R  T  S

MaterialScapes
Gallery 32 at Dent Inn
30 May – 30 June 2008
Assorting shapes and pieces together to create substantial imagery is the brilliance of collage paintings. Collecting ordinary materials used everyday and transforming them into splendid pieces of artwork is the promising aptitude of the artist. In ‘MaterialScapes’ artist Gaurav Shrestha explores the basics of matters and materials and puts them into interesting collages. In this 6th solo collage exhibition of the artist, he creatively plays with different materials, basically highlighting their textures and details. He draws inspiration from materials that are used everyday bringing out their natural charm that usually go unnoticed.
From multi-colored geometric patterns, figurative sketches, symbolic entities to rural landscapes, Shrestha’s work assesses various themes and elements to the collection of over eight years. Shrestha has experimented with elements like Nepalese traditional lokta papers, prayer flags, cardboard, posters, jute and various other fabrics, calendars and even keys adding a unique edge to his work.

The use of bold colors, hues of gold and the collage of numbers and figures are significant in his paintings. The portrayal of prayer flags smeared in red and paintings with the faces of Buddha somehow delve into a spiritual realm among the varied subject matters featured. The lattices of newspaper prints amazingly create village landscapes while the cardboard boxes give life to the portrayal of many other abstract figures. ‘MaterialScapes’ is an experimental collection of art work encompassing the richness of various materials and their textures. NR

Silhouettes in Time
Siddhartha Art Gallery, Babar Mahal Revisited
13 – 30 May, 2008
Erina Manandhar is an artist who can play with figures and cast them into pictures reflecting contemplative sentiments usually expressed through the portrayal of feminine figures. ‘Silhouettes in Time’, her 8th solo exhibition, displays the same charisma with augmented vibrancy and vigor. Inspired by her treks to Manaslu and Manang, she recalls as “two of the most beautiful places that I have visited. Every step that I took on these treks gave me a new theme for my canvases.” In her recent works she attempts to juxtapose the accents of the river cut rocks and landscapes observed in the treks with male and female figures in her paintings.
‘Silhouettes in Time’ captures the moods of people from different walks of life and derives much inspiration from stone sculptures as the theme of the collection. The elements of umbrella and embellished flowers have been widely used this time. The use of umbrellas in different colors, moods and situations expresses an essence of feminity as well as its connection with the various facets of life. With portrayal of both male and female figures and the use of bold, bright hues accentuated with hints of gold, Tamrakar’s work seems to have subtly diverged from her previous collections to give a fresher and a livelier dimension. Amidst the shelter of nature, the figures are often accompanied on her canvasses with ingrowths of flowers and vines to provide a unique feeling, one that reflects a sense of self absorption and inner peace. NR

Splashes
Park Gallery, Lazimpat
1 – 7 June, 2008
‘splashes’ celebrates the first solo exhibition of artist Milan Rai opened by his Excellency, Finn Thilsted, Ambassador of Denmark. The entire collection of paintings is a plethora of splatters and splashes of colors. These splashes form landscapes and figures with undeniable beauty and abstraction. ‘splashes’ actually came as an accidental insight to the artist inspired by the allure of the formless existence of spills of water. “My paintings carry no messages or philosophies or any such creeds. They simply manifest my unconditional feelings and me, myself,” remarks the artist on his collection. He believes that ‘splashes’ is more about the expression of his deep intuitive thoughts and his unconscious discovery of new visions on the canvas rather than thematic ensemble of subject matters. Seemingly unrecognizable from a nearer scrutiny, the little dots and splashes create an invigorating illusion to the viewer.
In one of the paintings portraying a dense green forest, what looks like a streak of color running through it actually forms a winding pathway. In another, the little shades of pink splattered against a bare female body create showering blossoms all around her. And, the painting displaying concentric extensions of the artist’s thumb prints gives the impression of an ever-expanding cosmos.
Such is the magnificence of Rai’s work. A self taught artist, Rai does not believe in the captivity of rules and certainties in expressing his intense artistic emotions. He rather portrays the surreal existence of human fantasies and nature through skillful sprays and strokes of his imagination. NR

A  R  T    M A T T E R S

Liminalia
Sketches in Visual Anthropology and Aesthetics
By Sushma Joshi
I was walking by Thamel in one of those anti-social moods last Friday evening—I had braved my life on a
motorbike ride through upstream traffic to get to the Sundhara Bakery Café, only to find out that the art opening I thought was being held wasn’t there. A magician was on stage instead, doing tricks for a birthday party.
Thoroughly confused, I walked back through the crowded microbus stop, stopped to buy books off the footpath, including a 1941 find titled “Everest The Challenge” by Sir Francis Younghusband. Later I learnt the art opening was in the corresponding venue in Pulchowk, not in Sundhara. By the way, can people please stop naming their restaurants “Bakery Café” because it is starting to get very, very confusing for those of us trying to shift through the proliferations of Bakery Cafes…
… when I saw Bidhur waving from the glass window of Vajra Books. Soon we were in an animated conversation, and before long he had shown me the latest books from Vajra Publications—two tiny, exquisitely designed books that just begged to be flipped through. The two books, done in partnership with EVK2CNR Publications, are the works of Italian art historian Alessandra Campoli, and director of a series on Oriental Studies Martino Nicoletti.

“Ritual Art of the Kingdom of Mithila”, by Alessandra Campoli, has 56 tiny photographs of everything from black and white photographs of women engaged in the task of making art to popular mythical and animal motifs that appear in the artwork.

The aripana, traditionally traced on the floor with rice flour, is shown translated on paper. In photo 14, the footsteps of Vishnu, resting inside a eight-pointed tantric diagram, is surrounded by objects of daily use  and symbols. The footsteps lead upward through a leafy, stem like configuration straight into the domestic hearth. Vishu, the Preserver, blesses the home with his presence, while below a farmer ploughs with two oxen.
Like the feet, the eye has central importance and is also used to underline the auspicious character of events. In Photo 39, both Durga and her tiger have a great elliptical eye resting in the center of their faces, while surreal diagrams decorate the background.

Photos 18-20 look at popular representation of nagas, snakes that appear geometrical and abstract in the drawings. Indeed, one of them looks startlingly like DNA, reminding us of the story again of the scientist who discovered the double helix: he dreamt of the snake biting its own tail and awoke in the morning to realize that DNA was double stranded. (Strangely, a Google search on double helix brings up the story that the Nobel Prize winning genius Francis Crick was rumored to have been on LSD when he had that famous dream.)

Talking of LSD: photo 21 to 24 are pretty trippy, showing repeated usage of Garuda to create an endless, infinite repetition of the same design. The folk motifs can often spiral into the surreal, as in the universal dance directed by Krishna. The lack of perspective in the art situates the artwork as ‘naïve art’, or less controversially, ‘folk art’. The use of reds and ochres, the extensive use of mythology along with the reluctance to deviate from traditional subjects places the work in its ritual context—the painting continues to propitiate the gods and ask for blessings and prosperity, rather than be a medium of expression.

The short introduction, while fascinating, would have benefited from a discussion of the Janakpuri Women’s Development Center, an influential institution in popularizing the artwork of Janakpuri women. A historical note on its founder, Claire Burkett, as well as the challenges she faced in the early nineties to establish this institution, would have given some context. Claire rented a small apartment from my family for a few years starting in 1991, and I still remember the piles of Janakpuri women’s art that found its way into that apartment. Interestingly, women painted a lot more bicycles and radios, and women wearing pants, in those days. Either Campoli selectively left out the modern aspects of the artists’ imaginations, or else they’ve stopped painting those elements.

Martino Nicoletti’s The Ecstasic Body: Notes on Shamanism and Corporeality in Nepal also features the same style of photographs as the previous book. Nicoletti, born in Perugia (Italy) in 1968, is director of collection of Cinnabaris (series of oriental studies). The book was such a giftable object I promptly gave it away to two friends who were leaving the country, so I will have to rely on my memory to write this review.

Nicoletti features a series of photographs of shamans from Rai, Tamang and Tibetan cultures. The first series of photographs shows a young man in Solu who has a fit and starts to eat grass. The shaman treats him by making him lie face down on cold water, and soon the man is cured and on his way.
We see both men and women performing the rites of healing. In one photograph, Nicoletti explains that although the female shaman is not fully attired, just the few ritual objects (a dyangro drum, a necklace) is enough to allow the shaman to go into trance and do her ceremony.

In one striking diagram, he includes a shaman’s drawing of his journey to the center of the earth, and the solid rock he has to bypass to come back to earth again. Though humble, the drawing captures the epic nature of the shaman’s journey (parallels could be drawn with modern day heroes of the screen, which make millions in films like Lord of the Rings or Star Wars), and makes us realize why we continue to revere them.

The books capture anthropology’s fascination with the visual in an accessible way. If you’re looking for a small gift that would capture the essence of Nepal without weighing down the luggage of departing friends, grab these books. You can be sure they will lean back in their plane seats and have some very interesting thoughts and dreams.


Sushma Joshi is a freelance writer, filmmaker, editor and regular contributor to ECS magazine. She can be contacted at sushma@alumni.brown.edu.

M E E T    T H E    A R T I S T

Udaya Charan Shrestha
By Ivan Sada
A pauva painting of the Kumari by Udaya caught this scribe’s attention not only because she was painted wearing all the necessary ornaments that a Kumari is adorned with, but because a traditional pauva painting is usually flat and this one came alive in three dimension. It was unmentionably realistic. To top the amazement, Udaya uses a magnifying glass to amplify the intricate designs of the ornaments. The ornaments appeared genuine and in perfection, though they were miniscule in size and not visible to the naked eye.

Udaya Charan Shrestha was born in 1964 and has completed a Bachelors Degree in Fine Arts. He started painting from an early age and learned traditional pauva painting from his Newari elders of the art. Pauva is a type of Newari-Nepali religious scroll painting, otherwise known as thanka. During his studies Udaya decided to take pauva art into a different level. While maintaining the traditional techniques, Udaya (amongst a few) attempted to fuse pauva with modern art. Though it was not initially accepted, the experiment became a phenomenal success as it is more lifelike and convincing. It helped traditional pauva painting evolve parallel with modern times. Though the art form is inherently sacred, and incoherent change may destroy its essence, Uday’s paintings follow the fundamental rules.

Udaya’s collections adorn the walls of art enthusiasts not only in Nepal but the world over. His paintings may be seen, for example, at the Fukuoka Asian Museum in Japan and in the Rubin Museum of Art in New York City. He has won many awards and his credentials are worthy to elevate him as the first to present traditional pauva art in acrylic in a modern style. His technique, medium and style are significantly different from the rest, enough to have
elevated him to be a recognized artist in the realm of Realistic Regional Contemporary Iconographic Art.

Note that defining a Pauva painting is tricky, but in simplified terms it is understood as an ancient Nepali art form that spread to Tibet through Bhrikuti, the daughter of the famed Lichhavi King Amshuverma. Princess Bhrikuti was married to the Tibetan emperor Tsrong Chong Gampo in the 8th century AD. Pauva paintings are a type of thanka, or religious scroll painting. They are line based and are considered integral with Buddhist philosophy as they carry certain aspects of religious texts and messages within them. Pauva artists strictly follow its iconographic rules and normally do not compromise on its techniques.