Photo Courtesy: Aksheswar Traditional Buddhist Art College

Being a student of traditional Buddhist art at Aksheswar Traditional Buddhist Art College, Pulchowk, we visited an art exhibition on March 27, 2022, located at Dokaima café, Patan Dhoka, Lalitpur. The exhibition titled “Khola 2.0: 32 cycles of life”, was conducted by tulikaa.com and curated by Ujen Nordu Gurung. 

After knowing that the artworks were made by well-known artists, the expectation was automatically high. With that expectation, we began the journey toward the exhibition location. Upon entering the venue, I felt a positive vibe. The gallery had a beautiful environment and a warm welcoming atmosphere. 

Walking up the stairs and proceeding inside the exhibition hall full of artworks, all the students embraced the event with a feeling of delight. Every single piece of art displayed there, explained their backstories and cycle of life. The art gallery was designed in form of a “Buddhist mane” which symbolized the purification of one’s karma. 

In the exhibition, there was a painting of Padma Pani Lokeshwor that interpreted the story about him observing the hell where souls were punished according to their karma in life. 

Talking about one of the paintings in the exhibition that fascinated me was the painting of “Goddess Mahalaxmi” painted by Veteran artist Udaya Charan Shrestha, created in 1998. The presentation and the perspective of the artist while painting the facial features of the Goddess and her whole body structure were inspiring. It seemed as if the Goddess was in motion, which was a new experience from a painting’s perspective to learn. Around 25 artworks were on display in the exhibition.

Then, we got the chance to meet the artists and interact with them which provided us a way of guideline for our future endeavors. The comfortable interaction and explanation of the artworks provided a new perspective to look into detailed works of traditional paintings.

The exhibition was a window for our future prospects as an artist. Along with that, it gave us a perspective on the importance of traditional art.