Bangdel, who just came up with his 14th solo exhibition at Gallery 32, Dent Inn of Heritage Plaza on Tuesday, had initially planned to be a medical doctor. And the hang of medicine gripped him until he passed his college.
“Ever since I was a child, I always scribbled and doodled with crayons. It was another story that they didn’t turn up to be anything meaningful. However, I had never seriously thought of being an artist, fine artist at least.”
Rather, immediately after passing Intermediate of Science degree, with a lot of hard luck, he tried his hand on music. Many might not know, he actually formed a band named Hell’n Out and was its lead vocalist and guitarist. However, he didn’t find satisfaction through this newfound love either, however much fun it was than studying science.
“See, I went through everything and realized that except for arts, I was going to fail miserably in life,” the thirty-seven years old artist, poet and RJ said. “This is what I was born for,” he added pointing to one of the exhibits.
Search for Serenity, as the show is baptized, portrays the figures of women. Most of his portraits, especially with eyes and lips, draw a close similarity with Mithila art. Chirag’s recurring motif bloomed lotus have found ample space in this series as well. His regular use of primary colors like red, navy blue and green is distinct. But his attempt to his newfound love for women´s figure is a fresh attempt.
Bijay Rai
He feels he has found his “serenity” in art, this time, and that it´s on his blood.
He believes it has a lot to do with his family environment.
"I grew up snooping through the studio with my grandfather late Lain Singh Bangdel, a pioneering art historian and artist in his own right. In fact, when I used to show him my scribbles he always used to correct it with his charcoal; no matter how uninterested I was in getting it corrected. So, when I grew up I found this trick; before I went to show him my art, I framed it. So, that way, my art remained MY art.”
Chirag’s recent figurative works, some of which are also displayed in the exhibition, are featured in the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) 2009 Calendar.“I paint for the sheer joy of process. There is this immense satisfaction that comes with a good art. And if you can use that for noble cause, the joy is multiplied,” the artist shared. The twenty percent proceeding of the exhibition will be donated to the funds for “Women Education Training for Literacy”—an initiative by Active Women of Nepal (AWON) at Sankhu.
The exhibition also has featured some of his old paintings from Tattva, a multi-media collage series last year. The previous paintings from the series were received well at Chautara Gallery, Netherlands.
Once in a while, Chirag also makes a point to follow his late litterateur father Roshan Bangdel’s suit. “I’m soon coming up with a collection of my short stories and haikus named Mist Around the Stupa.”
Bangdel already has three poetry books to his credit.
The show will go on at the Gallery 32, Dent Inn until February 15.
