Photo Courtesy: Astha Lin
KATHMANDU
When an artist holds the brush against the canvas their hands move simultaneously to complete the art. Art is created with immense passion. And many youngsters are being attracted toward creating art not just as a hobby but accepting it as their profession.
Likewise, the group painting exhibition ‘Being Together’ that kicked off on August 2 at Classic Gallery, Chakupat, Lalitpur depicts the skills of five young artists who aimed at creating awareness about the problem and solutions of the contemporary issues through art.
Together we must fight
The chief guest Padma Sundar Joshi Program manger of UN-Habitat and special guest veteran artist Uma Shankar Shah and artist/ art critique Tirtha Niraula jointly inaugurated the exhibition. The exhibition features artworks of Binod Giri, Aman Maharjan, Deepak Thami, Suresh Basnet, and Leo Jhankar.
“When I shifted from my hometown Udyapur to here in Kathmandu five years ago, I felt the culture difference. And I have painted how I felt that difference in my painting. Then, I have also chosen the theme of the environment where I have focused my painting on global warming and its effect in our life,” shared Leo.
In the exhibition, the artists have used acrylic on canvas, printmaking technique like etching, and aquatint on zinc plate along with watercolor on canon paper. The paintings mainly focused on cultural, environmental aspects and the darkness that is growing in the modern world.
“Being born and brought up in Kathmandu, I have always found culture here, overwhelming. I simply started drawing from my childhood. And without knowing, art which used to be a hobby changed into my passion,” said Aman Maharjan.
In his print titled ‘Utpatti’ using etching, aquatint on zinc plate he has created Swoyambhunath in the realistic form in black and white color. The settlement and the temple are placed on the left-hand side of the canvas while there are lines as if there is a swirl going on around them. According to him, he was inspired by the legendary story related to the emergence of Kathmandu Valley after Bodhisattva Manjushree cut a gorge near Chobar hill with his sword of wisdom to drain the lake, where the lake eventually turned to a valley.
Among the viewers, Dipesh Bariya who had come to the exhibition from Shantinagar said that seeing the artworks mesmerized him and made him think despite the odds how beautiful Nepal was. A total of 33 paintings ranged Rs10, 000 to Rs65, 000 have been showcased in the gallery.
The exhibition is in full swing that continues till September 10.
