Bhutanese contemporary art is now finding a place on the international stage with exhibitions of several Bhutanese artists being held in Europe last year and in Taiwan, this year. Three Bhutanese artists including Bhutan’s foremost contemporary artist, Kama Wangdi, popularly known as Asha Kama opened their solo exhibitions in Taiwan recently.
65-year-old Kama Wangdi’s solo art exhibition titled “Sacred Present” is ongoing at the Dr Sun Yat Sen National Memorial Hall in Taipei. It will end on Wednesday.
His exhibition includes artworks done in the last five years such as mandalas, the Buddha and sacred dances among others.
Likewise, Gyembo Wangchuk another artist opened his second solo exhibition in Tansbao Gallery last week. Zimbiri a female artist, also opened her exhibition in Taipei.
“Right now, in Taipei for the last two weeks, Bhutan art and artists have taken up a big front page right now and lots of collectors are interested. And we are praying that it goes well,” said Kama Wangdi, founder of VAST Bhutan.
Tansbao Gallery where Gyembo Wangchuk’s works are exhibited was opened by a young lady called Jill Lu for contemporary Bhutanese art. Kama Wangdi said that she is giving Bhutanese artists a break. The plans to expand and showcase Bhutanese art in the regions like Hong Kong, Singapore and China are also in the pipeline.
“It is late by then but still, for the next exhibition, it will help us to do better. There is a lot of inspiration and we get a lot of reality checks. So, it boils down to individual artists, of course, the platform is very important but we need a body of work to be there. So, we need to work harder.”
Kama Wangdi said that exhibitions and art shows are very important for individual artists which allow them to enter into the competitive market. Moreover, he said that each exhibition is an opportunity for artists to learn, get reminded of the areas they need to focus more on and realise how to become a better artist in the future.
Devika Pradhan
Edited by Kipchu
