KATHMANDU
In the eyes of a foreigner, Nepal seems to be the land of mystical art, religion and living culture. And the exhibition ‘Namaste Nepal Kathmandu Contemporary Art’, which is a group exhibition of 21 Korean and 14 Nepali artists, is a way of expressing gratitude and respect to each other through contemporary art.
The exhibition that began on Saturday showcases paintings, sculptures, prints and installations. This amalgamation became possible due to artist Barun Pokharel, who is residing in Korea. Having two different dynamic aspects of art, the exhibition is an interesting mix to understand the point of view of artists from Nepal and Korean; while using contemporary art. Though, Nepali artists were limited to paintings only, for this exhibition.
Ninth National Art Exhibition in photographs
In the exhibition that concluded on Thursday, the artists have used the theme of urbanization, nature, people, culture and tradition among others. Artist Pak Bahadur Thapa in his paintings depicted the gradual disappearance of our traditional art and architectures. Thapa’s paintings depicted the lack of preservation of ancient local architecture.
In one of his paintings, stone idol of Goddess Durga is the center of the artwork where an elderly lady is performing a ritual. Thapa has used hues like red, grey, green and golden in such a manner, as if the idol is going to be torn; metaphorically implying to the vanishment of ancient art and architecture.
Likewise, artist Muna Bhadel using photographs, and scratch technique depicted the disappearance of a vibrant lifestyle in her home town, Changu Narayan, after the devastating earthquake in 2015 and locals migrating for better opportunities. Her technique of creating vibrancy that once used to be there through scratches on photographs is interesting that give a gothic feeling along with a sense of melancholy, which she experienced.
Meanwhile, the art works of Korean artists are subtle yet have the power to evoke emotions in the visitors. There is a sense of tranquility in the artworks due to the use of subtle hues green, pink, yellow, blue, etc mostly in pastel colors.
In the exhibition, artist Lee Hyoung Chae created an installation using wood, soil and iron bolt titled ‘Namaste 2020’. Lee Hyoung Chae has given a human form to the wood which is joining hands together and doing Namaste, which aptly depicted the theme of the exhibition and a way to showcase gratitude for the exchange of ideas in the exhibition.
