Collective Expressions
3rd Solo Exhibition by Bhairaj Maharjan
Imago Dei, Naxal 3-28 February 2008
The walls of the chic and comfortable café and gallery, Imago Dei, were
covered with the art work of Bhairaj Maharjan, his third solo exhibition. “The collection displayed is the result of a search process from my first exhibition until now”, the artist explained. Varied expressions of women are mainly found in the collection and a few other motifs were sprung out of the artist’s perception of the need for spirituality and peacefulness in our country today. The People’s Movement affected several of the artist’s creations. The artworks are partly abstract and partly figurative in style. Bhairaj’s artwork expresses the
ordinariness of women and their day to day lives. It is clear from the images of the women—some combing their hair, sleeping, doing their daily chores or
contemplating, clad in Newari printed saris, that the artist is a Newar (from Patan). The artist uses bold colors and however grim the expression of a woman, the vibrant greens, blues and oranges certainly are provocative. The paintings have charm.
Harmonious Transitions:Exhibition of Photography by Daniel Collins
Saturday Café, Boudha
6 February-2 March 2008
At the Tibetan year end, a special and puja ritual takes place in monasteries for stepping into the forthcoming year peacefully. ‘Vajrakilaya Gutor Puja’ is performed by rinpoches and monks to remove the obstacles of the current year. Daniel Collins, a photographer and student of Tibetan Buddhism, portrays the last ceremony of this puja. Lama Dance, a unique performance by monks open for the public, is based on past performances by monks of high rank. The exhibition shows the monks dressed as colorful manifestations of various deities.
The pink mask in the photo is entitled ‘Self-portrait”. “Perhaps it looks like me,” he says. Perhaps the deity exudes his personality, we’ll never know, but it certainly is amazing how he has captured the vivacity of this sacred dance. “One of Buddhist ways to enlightenment is by seeing,” Daniel tells us. Those who view the Lama Dance are believed to achieve liberation upon seeing it. Daniel Collins’ objective is to bring the dance and share knowledge of it to an even larger audience through his photographs. He extends his gratefulness to the monasteries for letting him stand all over the place to take the pictures.
Remains of a Smile:An Art Show in Siddhartha Art Gallery
Babar Mahal
February 18 – March 2 2008
‘Remains of a Smile’, the sculpture and painting exhibition by Jamal Alafaghani and Maya Siag, drew a good crowd to Siddhartha Art Gallery at Babar Mahal Revisited on opening day. Ambassador of the Arab Republic of Egypt to Nepal, His Excellency Abdelhamid Mahmoud Soliman, opened the exhibition beginning February 18 to March 2nd.
The works by Maya and Jamal portray feminism in different forms and moods. Jamal, particularly, is greatly influenced by females and children, as he thinks females hold the world together and children are its future.
Every piece displayed had a distinct appeal to it, but the head-only sculpture where Jesus and Moses shared a face mesmerized the visitors. The paintings and designs inside the frames (not all framed pieces hanging on the wall were paintings) were made using minimal colors, but quite successfully projected the myriad interpretations of the artists.
Jamal has around 50 solo exhibitions to his credit and has displayed his works at more than 100 joint exhibitions in Europe, the Mid-East and North Africa.
To contact Siddhartha Gallery for information on this and future exhibitions, phone 421.8048.
