The work of artist Tsherin Sherpa (b. Kathmandu, Nepal, 1968) dialogues with the works in the MAO’s permanent collection to activate a new reading and narration of ancestral traditions and mythologies in a contemporary perspective, expanding their meaning and understanding. Sherpa reinterprets Tantric motifs, symbols, colours and gestures within contemporary compositions: starting from classical Tibetan Buddhist iconography, he develops a process of deconstruction, abstraction, fragmentation and reconstruction of the traditional image, exploring his diasporic experience and the dichotomy between sacred and secular culture. The project is part of the broader #MAOtempopresente programme, which considers contemporary art as a medium and tool for interpreting and enhancing museum heritage, imagining alternative solutions in the displaying through the introduction of contemporary works and new site-specific productions developed within the residency programme started in 2022.
At the museum are presented the works Luxation 2 (2016) and The Tak (2022).
The ongoing rearrangement of the Himalaya Gallery is supported by the contribution of Rossi & Rossi gallery
BioTsherin Sherpa lives and works between California and Nepal. From the age of 12, he studied traditional Tibetan thangka painting with his father, Master Urgen Dorje. In 1998, Sherpa emigrated to California, where he taught this style in various Buddhist Centres and began exhibiting his work in the USA, Europe and Asia. Tsherin Sherpa represented Nepal at the 59th Venice Biennale in 2022 with his solo exhibition Tales of Muted Spirits - Dispersed Threads - Twisted Shangri-La. His solo and group exhibitions include: Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT8), Brisbane (2015); Beyond the Mandala - Contemporary Art from Tibet (2011), Volte Gallery, Mumbai, in collaboration with Rossi & Rossi London; Scorching Sun of Tibet (2010), Songzhuang Art Center, Beijing; Tradition Transformed: Tibetan Artists Respond (2010), Rubin Museum of Art, New York, Hood Museum of Art, Hanover, New Hampshire, and Crow Collection of Asian Art, Dallas, Texas; Buddha in the Hood (2010), Red Mill Gallery, Johnson, Vermont; Sacred Images: Thangka Painting (2007), Alta Galleria, Berkeley, California; Contemporary Thangka (2007), Smith Andersen Editions, Palo Alto, California. Sherpa’s works have been shown in solo exhibitions at Rossi & Rossi in London (2012, 2018) and Hong Kong (2016)
