An Art Lover's Dream

 Day 2 … All Art, All Day

 

So you won’t be surprised to know that I asked the travel company to arrange a day exploring the art scene in Kathmandu.

 

While the day did not go exactly as originally planned it was filled with really special moments and neat encounters.  I had hoped to see street art (I had read somewhere that there is some street art here – turns out oops, not really.  But that’s okay) and visit contemporary galleries, etc.  

 

I am not quite sure how I lucked out but I was partnered with the Head of the Fine Arts Department of the Nepal Academy of Fine Arts as my guide.  Crazy, right?!?!  I certainly wasn’t expecting someone in such a position to be giving me an art tour of Kathmandu.  I literally spent the entire day with her (and my regular guide, Suresh, who was not overly interested in art so I kept putting him on the spot and asking if he liked certain pieces – he would just laugh.)

 

My guide for the day, Sushma Rajbhandari, is a painter and academician.

 

Turns out she also knows the artists all over town.  She took me to galleries, her office, a public museum, and most astonishingly she introduced me directly to several artists, one whom even invited us into his studio. AMAZING!

 I had the chance to see several of her pieces as well.  I especially LOVED this one – a very contemporary expression of the Hindu god, Ganesh.  

She has a special connection to Ganesh so she paints him regularly.

 

Sushma is a lovely woman.  She went out of her way to make sure I was enjoying the day.  We laughed and joked, even with some language barriers, and we took lots of selfies together at different places around the city.  I so appreciated her treating me as a welcome guest. I could tell it pleased her to know how much I enjoyed our time together.

 

While at the Academy of Fine Arts she even had some lovely employees personally set out piece upon piece upon piece of art for me to see.  (See all those paintings stacked up against the wall???  They showed me all of those and then some.  I am not kidding you – they showed me probably 75 works of art throughout different spaces at the Academy.  

 

Since a festival had just ended they were in between exhibitions and no paintings were hanging.  The paintings were all stacked up against the walls and they set them all out for me to see.  Wow, did I feel special, and I am not, so it was an even funnier thing.  I wasn’t buying and I am not an artist - I am just someone who was interested in contemporary Nepali art and they treated me like royalty.

 Some of my favorites from the Academy…

 

This sculpture was on the grounds at the Academy 

and it caught my eye right away.

Sushma also took me to the Russian Center for Science and Culture where she had other pieces of her own displayed, and there was an exhibition.  (I could never quite figure out the Russia/Nepal connection – again, language challenges – but I did learn that Sushma has art of her own  in a museum in Russia.  She and I were able to talk about our shared love of St. Petersburg and Moscow so that was super fun!)

Sushma and one her artworks

Ok – back to the artist and his studio I visited.  OMG – an absolute treat!  That artist is Manish Lal Shresthat.  He lives and creates his art directly next to his Gallery McCube.

 

Gallery McCube is “non-profit alternative /contemporary visual Art center founded and envisioned by renowned multi-disciplinary visual artist Manish Lal Shrestha based in the Heart of Lalitpur, Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. Mcube is only alternative contemporary art gallery in Nepal.”

 

Manish has a likeable spirit the moment you meet him. I instantly felt comfortable talking wih him.  He is a deep thinker but did not come off as pretentious, instead very humble and genuine.  I was not surprised to learn he likes to express peace and harmony through his works.  

 

He is an interdisciplinary artist formally trained in Mumbai.

 

He could not have been more inviting and pleasant and eager to share his work. He also took us to see the gallery space but there was no work installed because we were there in between exhibitions.  I didn’t care.  The treat was in meeting him and seeing some of his work at his own studio.  

If I lived in Kathmandu, Gallery McCube would be THE PLACE I would be.  I thought of the members of my art meetup group, (especially you , Darlene) the whole time I was with Manish. I know how much they all would have loved being there.

 

His Yeti … 💜

 

 If you look closely at his art you can find “lifelines.”  They are something he includes to remind us that life is not a straight line.  Love it!

I had the pleasure of meeting yet another artist and saw some of his work from the past 20 years at a solo exhibition at museum in a famous location, Durbar Square.  I could kick myself because I can't find his card right now to share his name.  (If I come across it later I will update.)

***This next section about this artist, Uttam Dangle, has been edited.  I found the information I had and wanted to accurately represent him and his art.***

This gentleman's work was classic Paubha - a traditional religious painting by Newar people of Nepal.  (Similar to Tibet's Thangka painting.) The painting tradition is highly ornate, very detailed and always of a spiritual nature.  Like everything else Buddhist and Hindu, it is not straightforward and has many aspects, none of which are not easy to articulate.

I had originally thought it was Thangka.  I am curious as to how to tell the difference when looking at it.

After reading about him in the brochure I now know he is highly trained with an M.A. in Nepalese History, Culture and Anthropology AND an M.F.A.  He is highly respected and well known in the Nepalese art field.  

I SO wish I had talked to him more. 

In many of the paintings he had not only painted them, he had even created the paint by grinding the stones. WHAT?!?!  He then painted on Nepali rice paper - Lokta.  (I also had the chance to visit a paper-making studio but that was on another day so I will get to that later.)

I can't quite recall why I didn't take more photos.  The paintings were beautiful but maybe I didn't because I don't totally resonate with the gods and goddesses.  It is just something so foreign to me that I can't connect to their rich meaning and significance.  

I appreciate the spiritual nature, for sure, but I also know that I did not really get the full context of his work.  

In hindsight I figured out why I did not take more pictures and talk to him more.  I met him at an exhibition and since I would not be buying I did not want to take his time.  

Also, for me, it is an awkward feeling when I can't gush over an artist's work when I am standing in the presence of the artist and his work.

Lesson: I need to learn to develop a comfort with talking to artists' about their works even if I don't feel particular connected to  it. 

He was so friendly, I suspect we could have had a really interesting discussion.

And yes, this was another artist Sushma knew.

Back to the original post now ... 

That exhibition was inside a museum at Durbar Square - a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  Afterwards Sushma, Sunesh and I walked around the site.

Here are some pics of Sushma, Sunesh (my daily guide) and me as we walked around the complex.

We also stopped by a few other galleries including Siddhartha which is considered one of the top in Kathmandu. (If you click this link you will see that somehow I managed to get to quite a few of the top art galleries.  So freaking amazing!!!)

It's located in this really cool, high-end complex with galleries and restaurants in the old palace, Babar Mahal Revisited. (I hope to get back and shop at a store that sells high-quality homemade paper pieces. I wasn't ready to start shopping when were there but I know I will be before the trip ends 😄)

Today's final pic is of a drink I am now OBSESSED with ...

Himalayan  Lemon Ginger Honey Tea.

Hot Water, lots of Fresh Ginger, Lemon and Honey

T

Come back tomorrow to enjoy a visit with a local family to make in their home the Nepali national dish - Dal Baht and an amazing Bamboo Shoot, Potato and Black-eyed Pea soup.

Spoiler - It was all over the top delicious!!! 

 

 

PS Please forgive any typos, bad grammar, etc. I am exhausted and I don't have energy for proof-reading.