Upcoming Exhibitions

Upcoming EXHIBITIOn

 September 2009

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A Tibetan Pilgrim: Travel Through the Vanishing Himalaya

Photographs by Tenzing Paljor


In 2007, Tenzing Paljor initiated the Vanishing Himalaya project and traveled through the Indian Himalaya documenting the tradition and cultural heritage, a journey he describes as a ‘pilgrimage’.  Over the course of six months, he traveled through dramatic and desolate landscapes in the remote regions of Ladakh, Zanskar, Spiti, Kinnaur, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, documenting the people who live in harsh environments where the Tibetan Buddhist way of life is still preserved.  

In  August of 2007, Tenzing visited Lithang, his ancestral home in Eastern Tibet, for six days.  He only was able to take photographs for a few hours during his stay and several of these photos are included in this exhibition.  

The exhibition serves as a symbolic journey of a Tibetan exile and conveys through photographs a celebration of the many facets of life in the Indian Himalaya that are uniquely Tibetan.  It also expresses the inherent union of culture and way of life across the Himalaya. The Vanishing Himalaya project seeks to document and archive Himalayan and Tibetan cultural heritage at a time of acute change and radical transformation.  

Tenzing Paljor, a self taught Tibetan photographer, has had solo exhibitions in India and Afghanistan and his work is in the collections of many individuals and institutions.  He was awarded the Rowell Fund for Tibet, a photography grant on India and Nepal Himalayas for two consecutive years from 2006 to 2008.  He is currently based in Colombo, Sri Lanka.

 

 

November 19, 2009 - January 29, 2010  

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Masterpieces of Contemporary Buddhist & Hindu Tantric Art 
Newar and Tibetan Paintings  from the Collection of Robert Beer
Opening reception: November 19 from 6:00 - 8:00 pm

This exhibition will feature many new paintings made by the finest Newar and Tamang artists of Nepal over the last six years, revealing how this contemporary renaissance of modern tantric art has continued to flourish amidst the chaos of the Kathmandu Valley. The Newars are the original inhabitants of this once fertile valley, with their own ancient culture, traditions and language, and they were responsible for much of the painting, woodcarving and bronze casting that we now define as ‘Early Tibetan Art’.


Robert Beer has studied and practiced Tibetan Buddhist Art for nearly 40 years, and over the last 12 years has been working closely with many of the Newar artists, both as teacher and collector. The predominant images in this exhibition will display many of the little known and often obscure tantric goddesses that populate the Kathmandu Valley, but will also feature Tibetan thangkas from several of the senior and most highly trained Tamang artists of Nepal. 

 

February 11- April 16, 2010

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Modern Buddhist Visions by Pema Namdol Thaye
Opening reception: February 11 from 6:00 - 8:00 pm


Pema Thaye is renowned for his expertise in traditional Tibetan tangka painting, sculpture and the creation of rare three dimensional mandalas. Comprising complex geometry, symbolism and iconography, the arts of ancient Tibet represent one of the most elaborate and detailed spiritual and artistic traditions in the world. Pema Thaye has provided an important contribution to this traditional art for more than 28 years.

This exhibition will consist of not only his original paintings and prints, but also a premier showing of his 3-D artworks, including gem-adorned gold and silver creations and intricate carvings in wood and wax.

The essential core of the exhibition is Pema’s tangka paintings, varying in subject matter from ethereal celestial Buddhas, bodhisattvas and goddesses, and complex lineage refuge trees and mandalas, to mahasiddhas and arhats.