Diverse idioms of Nepali paintings

June 25, 2024

KATHMANDU – Nepali art exhibitions held in May-June 2024 at Kathmandu’s major galleries represent the diversity of the idioms of Nepali paintings executed in traditional, ethnic and modern forms. Visiting the exhibitions, closely observing the artworks, and interacting with the curators and some artists, I realised that the quest for the right idioms to express the major motifs of paintings continues to be the main thrust of the artists.

In this article, I am alluding to the genre of paintings exhibited in galleries. I have attempted to review the paintings displayed at the exhibitions and briefly discuss the diverse modalities and practices of exhibitions, as well as the impact of audience-oriented activism. Though I have been writing on the diverse genres and forms of Nepali art like sculpture, architecture and installation-oriented works mainly curated in Nepal by Sangeeta Thapa through major events under such rubrics as “biennale and triennale”, I have mostly produced reviews of paintings over the decades. I have put my review writings in catalogues and journals.

In recent years, I have been writing articles on art for the academic journal Sirjana of the Sirjana College of Fine Arts. Navindra Man Rajbhandari, an artist, art teacher, curator, and pedagogue, has been working earnestly to edit and publish this journal.

I visited the painting exhibitions in the major galleries—two at the Nepal Art Council, Babarmahal and one each at the Nepal Academy of Fine Arts and the Siddhartha Art Gallery. Interestingly, all these exhibitions are audience-oriented. The painting exhibition practice often follows the rituals of cataloguing the works with simple introductions and price tags written somewhat