The Kathmandu Triennale 2077

The Kathmandu Triennale 2077, presented 1–31 March 2022, was the fourth edition of Nepal’s premier international platform featuring local, national, and global contemporary art. Organized by the Nepal Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation and the Siddhartha Arts Foundation, along with Para Site in Hong Kong, the Triennale discarded the Gregorian calendar for its title in favour of the Nepali Bikram Sambat alternative calendar date of 2077.

More than seventy local, national, and international nonprofit organizations, government entities, corporations, media sponsors, and individuals helped make the Triennale become a reality. Under the leadership of the curatorial team consisting of Cosmin Costinas, Sheelasha Rajbhandari, and Hit Man Gurung, the Triennale featured more than 300 artworks created by 130 artists from forty countries on display at five culturally and historically significant Kathmandu venues. English and Nepali texts accompanied all exhibition artwork, and extensive public programming was held at each location, including performances, workshops, and lectures.

Featuring a wide selection of art practices and approaches, the Triennale included performance, installation, photo, slide, and video art; mixed-media, print, acrylic, oil, tempera, and ink painting; and traditional folk art, painting, sculpture, and textiles, offering visitors unique insights into local, national, and global issues.

The work of two of Nepal’s prominent abstract artists were showcased. Famous for his striking, impressionistic, abstract oil-on-canvas paintings, the Nepal-based artist Krishna Manandhar acknowledges that his very personal paintings result from his distinctive use of colour and form, along with inspiration from music and nature.

Born in 1947 in Bhotahity, Kathmandu, Manandhar graduated from Mumbai’s Sir J. J. School of Art in 1970. By the time he returned to Nepal, the modernist art movement had already been introduced into his country. But Manandhar and many other Nepali artists rejected the all-encompassing influence of this Western art dogma, preferring to focus instead on their own unique approaches.

In 1971 Manandhar, along with three fellow Sir J. J. School of Art graduates, established SKIB-71, considered the first modern art collective in Nepal, with the mission to promote Nepal’s own modernist art movement. SKIB-71 realized the advantages and recognition that art exhibitions afforded its artists, and for more than two decades the group organized a series of group exhibitions. As a SKIB-71 cofounder, Manandhar benefitted from these exhibitions, which regularly showcased his paintings, and the artist is now recognized as one of the pivotal leaders in Nepali abstract art (Figs 1–2).

Although Puran Khadka died in 2016, he continues to be one of Nepal’s best-known contemporary abstract artists. Born in 1956 in western Nepal’s Achham district, Khadka graduated from Mumbai’s Sir J. J. School of Art in 1980. Initially Khadka concentrated on realist and academic painting. It was not until 2000 that he began to shift his focus to create abstract works of art. After years of exploring and developing his own distinctive abstract art methods, Khadka evolved from paintings filled with coloured shapes and a series of meandering lines to simpler patterns. Khadka’s art features selected combinations of the artist’s preferred grey-blue, black, white, and red colours separated by solid black lines, interspersed with distinctive tan floating lines (Figs 3–5).

Fig. 5. *Wholeness*
Puran Khadka (1956–2016), 2010
Acrylic on paper; 27 x18.45 cm
Image © The Kathmandu Triennale 2077

Born into a family of traditional stone carvers in 1990, Subas Tamang has frequently combined his family’s carving and engraving techniques with more contemporary printmaking and painting practices, which the artist acquired while earning his Master of Fine Arts degree from Kathmandu’s Tribhuvan University.

Subas is a member of the Tamang community, an Indigenous group of Nepalis that has continually faced government-sanctioned discrimination and persecution. Through his art, Subas explores the present-day circumstances of the Tamang people and reveals their complicated history.

Utilizing Lokta Nepali handmade paper for his art surfaces has special significance for Subas. During the 19th and 20th centuries, the Tamang minority was forced to strip and collect bark from the Lokta plant and process it into paper before offering it to Nepali rulers in lieu of paying government taxes. The Tamang people were also required to labour in the rulers’ orchards and deliver their fruit, especially the highly desired mangos, to palaces in Kathmandu.

Each of Subas’s two pieces in acrylic and ink on Lokta paper features an individual figure of a Tamang man dressed in traditional attire, but emerging separately from each figure’s face the artist has painted a bouquet of Lokta flowers and a cluster of ripe mangos, respectively (Figs 6–7).

Fig. 6. Baigani Rakam
Subas Tamang (b. 1990), 2021
Acrylic and ink on Lokta paper; 59 x 98 cm [mangoes]
Image © The Kathmandu Triennale 2077

Fig. 7. Kagaji Rakam
Subas Tamang (b. 1990), 2021
Acrylic and ink on Lokta paper; 79 x 98 cm [flowers]
Image © The Kathmandu Triennale 2077

A 1999 graduate from the art department of Tibet University, Langdun Dedron is renowned for exceptionally detailed art, showcasing her distinctive interpretations of traditional Tibetan art techniques, which she periodically combines with modernist, Cubist and Surrealist art elements. Dedron’s vibrant and unique art methods were on display in the work We Are Nearest the Sun, which captures the artist’s personal interpretation of the beauty of Tibet’s landscapes, monuments, and towns (Fig. 8).

Fig. 8. *We are Nearest to the Sun*
Langdun Dedron (b. 1976), 2009
Digital print on canvas
Image © The Kathmandu Triennale 2077

The Conquered Enchantress, Dendron’s second work featured, was inspired by a 7th-century Tibetan story featuring the legendary figure of Srinmo, whose painted recumbent body represents the nation of Tibet. According to lore, Srinmo vigorously fought the introduction of Buddhism into Tibet. Nevertheless, Buddhist temples were erected by the religion’s devotees, forcing Srinmo’s spirit into submission and finally allowing the Tibetan civilization to develop (Fig. 9).

Fig. 9. *The Conquered Enchantress*
Langdun Dedron (b. 1976), 2009
Digital print on canvas; 80 x 180 cm
Image © The Kathmandu Triennale 2077

The international award winning two-channel video Miasma, Plants, Export Paintings is one of several video collaborations between Amsterdam artist Wang Bo and Hong Kong artist Pan Lu (https://vimeo.com/248609674, password: miasma). They have creatively combined images of export paintings, archival photographs, and clips from documentary and feature films to recount the catastrophic consequences of British imperialism, its discriminatory practices, and inequitable trade agreements in 19th-century Hong Kong (Figs 10–11).

Fig. 10 Still from *Miasma, Plants, Export Paintings*, showing export painting by Chinese painters
Wang Bo (b. 1982) and Pan Lu (b.1981), 2017
Two-channel video; 28:32 min.
https://vimeo.com/248609674, password: miasma
Image © The Kathmandu Triennale 2077 and the artists

Fig. 11 Still from *Miasma, Plants, Export Paintings*, showing Whampoa pagoda in Canton
Wang Bo (b. 1982) and Pan Lu (b. 1981), 2017
Two-channel video; 28:32 min.
https://vimeo.com/248609674, password: miasma
Image © The Kathmandu Triennale 2077 and the artists

Unaccustomed to Hong Kong’s hot, humid weather, the British colonialists promoted the fabricated 19th-century theory of ‘miasma,’ or noxious and harmful air, which they believed combined with the bad hygiene of Hong Kong’s Chinese residents to create an unhealthy local climate, triggering outbreaks of the plague and other diseases. As a result, virtually all Chinese residents were forced to reside on Hong Kong Island’s lower-level land, believed to be saturated with miasma, leaving the colonists the clear skies and fresh breezes enjoyed in the mid-level and Peak districts of Hong Kong Island.

This region’s indigenous plants not only survived but thrived in the muggy, tropical climate of the lower island and attracted the attention of 19th-century British botanical societies. British Hong Kong traders were sometimes asked to commission Chinese export painters to draw meticulous illustrations of the local plants, since the actual specimens could not survive the four month-long ocean journey to the United Kingdom.

The Patan Museum offered Triennale visitors a unique contemporary and historic art experience. Located on Durbar Square in Lalitpur, traditionally known as Patan, this site is famous for its exquisite courtyards, buildings, and temples in the Newa architectural style. Designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the museum houses more than 1,100 works of art, 200 which are on permanent display. The Patan Museum is especially celebrated for its exceptional collection of sacred Asian art, including carvings, votive objects, and Buddhist and Hindu deity sculptures, all created throughout the centuries in the Kathmandu Valley, India, Tibet, and the western Himalayas.

Against the backdrop of its religious artifacts, the museum’s Triennale exhibition juxtaposes contemporary and religious art, with Seema Sharma Shah’s distinctive prints on prominent display. A series of varying angular-shaped compartments serve as backdrops for Shah’s lavishly coloured cityscapes, which feature a succession of surreal illustrations of Hindu and Buddhist deities, architecture, and cultural rituals. Merging conventional religious motifs with contemporary artistic approaches, Shah’s prints explore the rich history of the artistic and religious exchange between North India and Kathmandu (Figs 12–13).

The Triennale exhibitions were augmented with more than twenty art gallery and display space exhibitions. Well-known Tibetan contemporary artist Tsherin Sherpa, in collaboration with Mt Refuge Carpet founder Karma Lama, organized an exhibition featuring a collection of antique Tibetan rugs and carpets in conjunction with the launch of their new rug and carpet collection, which features traditional handcrafted Tibetan rug-making techniques paired with Sherpa’s exquisite contemporary Tibetan Buddhist-inspired designs (Figs 14–15).

Born in Kathmandu in1968, Sherpa was trained in traditional thangka painting by his father, Master Urgen Dorje. However, Sherpa’s artwork has evolved throughout the years, and the artist has transformed traditional Buddhist iconography and Thangka painting techniques into his own unique contemporary art practices. Sherpa has also effectively integrated selected influences of Indian Bollywood posters, comic books, and Tibetan folktales, as well as some contemporary Western art ideas and techniques, into his art—of particular note is the artist’s penchant for manipulating computer photoshop pictures of Buddhist deities and incorporating elements of these surreal images into his paintings and rug patterns.

This celebrated artist, who has participated in numerous exhibitions throughout Asia, Europe, and the United States, is currently representing Nepal in its inaugural participation at the Venice Biennale in the 2022 exhibition Tales of Muted Spirits – Dispersed Threads – Twisted Shangri-La (Figs 16–17).

The unique size, shape and design of Nepal’s phone recharge cards have been ingeniously employed as painting surfaces by 31-year-old Sara Tunich Koinch, who is currently pursuing a Master of Fine Arts degree from Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu. Koinch began to collect the cards well before the introduction of digital banking, now the preferred method to buy cell-phone minutes. Nepal’s distinctively designed recharge cards often incorporate the word Namaste, a Sanskrit term for respect and goodwill, onto their surfaces.

Koinch believes that in this digital age, technology has become inseparable from everyday life, as cell phones offer their users easy access to mirrors, cameras, audio and video calls, maps, books, and an array of other phone apps, plus the ability to post selfies on social media. In her small acrylic paintings on Nepali recharge phone cards, Koinch presents a diverse selection of Nepali citizens, at times wearing masks that reflect the country’s COVID-19 concerns, and the various ways cell phones have impacted their daily life (Figs 18–24).

The ambitious Kathmandu Triennial 2077 and local gallery exhibits provided their visitors a unique opportunity to explore diverse art practices that blended tradition with innovation, old with new, and addressed complex universal issues.

Julie M. Segraves is Executive Director and Curator of The Asian Art Coordinating Council.

Segraves KT Review Bibliography

A. J. Samuels, ‘10 Contemporary Tibetan Artist to Know’, in The Culture Trip, 9 July 2019, at https://theculturetrip.com/asia/articles/10-contemporary-tibetan-artists-and-where-to-find-them/.

Dina Bangdel, ‘Modern and Contemporary Arts of Nepal: Brief Overview’, Nepal Art Council (NAC), Kathmandu, Nepal, at https://www.nepalartcouncil.org.np/modern-and-contemporary-arts-of-nepal-brief-overview/.

‘Interview of Mr. Puran Khadka’, in Sapanashah, 14 February 2012, at https://sapanashah.wordpress.com/2012/02/14/interview-of-mr-puran-khadka/.
John Henry Rice, Jeffery S. Durham, H. G. Masters, and Sophia L. Pandé with Tsherin Sherpa, Tsherin Sherpa: Spirits, Richmond, VA, 2022.

Kul Pasang Library-Museum, ‘Tamang History, Memory, and Identity’, 6 November 2021, at https://kulpasangtamanglibrary.com/2021/12/02/tamang-history-memory-and-identity.

Lait Kala Sangam and Birenda Kumar Rajbanshi, ‘Biography of Artist Subas Tamang’, Lalit Kala Sangram, 30 July 2020, at https://www.lks.org.np/2020/07/biography-of-artist-subas-tamang.html.

Max Eternity, ‘Buddha 2010: Contemporary Tibetan art in New York’, in The Huffington Post, 6 December 2017, at https://www.huffpost.com/entry/buddha-2010-contemporary-_b_738707.

Park Online Art Gallery, ‘A Conversation with Artist: Krishna Manandhar’, 1 July 2021, https://parkonlineart.com/artist_conversation/krishna-manandhar-2/.

Sangeeta Thapa, Sharareh Bajracharya, Cosmin Costinas, Sheelasha Rajbhandari, and Hit Man Gurung, eds, Kathmandu Triennale 2077 Catalogue, Kathmandu, 2022, digital version available at https://www.kathmandutriennale.org/news/kt2077-leaflet.

Sanjit Bhakta Pradhananga, ‘Hunting for Treasures at Patan Durbar’, in Srijanalaya, 30 April 2017, at https://srijanalaya.org/news-post/hunting-for-treasures-at-patan-durbar.

‘Seema Sharma Shah (Dr)’, in E-Arts Nepal, at https://eartsnepal.com/artists/seema-sharma-shah-dr/.

Stephanie Bailey, ‘Cosmin Costinas: A Walk Through the Kathmandu Triennale’, in Ocula Magazine, 1 April 2022, at https://ocula.com/magazine/conversations/cosmin-costinas/.

Stéphane Huët, ‘Puran Khadka in the Abstract’, in Nepali Times Buzz, 7–13 August 2015, http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/puran-khadka-wholeness,2483.

‘“The Wholeness” by Artist Puran Khadka’, in Artudio Net, 2 August 2015, at https://artudio.net/the-wholeness-by-artist-puran-khadka/.

Wang Bo, ‘Miasma, Plants, Export Paintings: A Work by Wang Bo and Pan Lu’, 2017, at http://bo-wang.net/miasma.html.

‘Wang Bo Biography’, in Ocula Magazine, text courtesy Asia Art Center, Taipei, 2020, at https://ocula.com/artists/bo-wang/.

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