Art has its environment and meaning, and it can exist free from a pedestal. Different approaches have sprung up with current environmental impacts, including other outdoor sculptures in Nepal as a modern movement. This form of activity has given new meaning to local indigenous values, art, and crafts. The transition started after some naturalistic sculptures, including equestrian statues, were brought from Europe and installed in the open environment.

In contemporary Nepali arts, there are some trends that shock any sensible viewer or any informed person in the area. Some artists repeat the same subject matter, figure and technique throughout their life or from the beginning of their profession till now. The presentation of the same thing all the time creates monotony and nausea in the viewers. The question arises: how can an artist do the same thing all the time?

Nepal gets a chance, now and then, to participate in biennale and triennial exhibitions. Through these exhibitions a few selected works help international audiences to get acquainted with Nepali art. But our participation in these exhibitions is so rare and the works selected so few that the selected works can't be a representation of the Nepali art. So rather than letting Nepali paintings speak for themselves we have to resort to writing, which doesn't lend easily to visual interpretation,...

In the past, endowed with vast medieval wealth - Nepali Art had many reasons to be proud and to be admired. For centuries, the traditions of Painting and Sculpture in particular, have remained so remarkable it could narrate innumerable stories of diverse imaginations, styles and beliefs in its expressions. The achievements also provided reasons to wonder how in spite of the harsh geographical adversity and the days of isolation then the ancestors managed and were able to create cultural...

The earliest Buddhist art may be traced back to the Buddha's lifetime although some art historians are of the view that it originated some centuries after Buddha's great Parinirvana. We find many exegetical references to strengthen evidences in the Sutra texts ie Vinaya and Tantra, including Manushrimulakalpa and so on.It appears that Buddha himself considered painting to be an important subject as he mentioned methods of painting in sutras such as Buddha Pratimalaksana sutra. This is...

Compared to the generation of earlier artists, even two to three decades earlier, the creative community today must consider themselves far luckier in terms of public exposure that lead to social recognition and commercial prospects. The scenario has changed today because along with others, as a result of a considerable mushrooming of broad sheet prints in Nepal providing a reasonable space for art activities. This has greatly enhanced the prospects for works and of course, a name for even...

From imagination and creativity, we get the arts. By art, I mean anything created with a specific purpose—to appeal to an emotion, the senses or the intellect. I am not going to try and debate what is art and what is not. Much like United States Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart’s declaration of pornography: “I know it when I see it”, art too depends as much upon the observer as the artist. Art is the crutch on which society supports itself. It can be a celebration or a condemnation or...

In a historically and religiously rich territory spanning a portion of northeast India and southern Nepal, a requisite household ritual has won some women world renown. The region is commonly known as Mithila, and the rite of repute, painting, is performed by virtually all women of the area. With a karmic nudge, and through the inevitable expanded global awareness of our times, their localized, private ritual has become recognized as a distinguished skill. For some it is an honored career....

Dil Bahadur Chitrakar belongs to an era of artists in Nepal who were the first few ones to work away from the traditional occupation of Chitrakars: painting for religious purposes.

Stepping into 2011 marks 21 years since Manuj Babu Mishra decided to remain in seclusion at his hermitage in Boudha, Kathmandu. It was only apt for the year 2010 to begin with a major solo exhibition of drawings by the 75-year-old artist at Siddhartha Art Gallery in Baber Mahal Revisited, one of the busiest galleries of the year, along with Kathmandu Contemporary Art Center (KCAC), which opened this year, and the Nepal Art Council (NAC).

Due to lack of archaeological evidences, the origin of paubha paintings is still debatable.  According to a Newari legend, Princess Bhrikuti had taken paubha paintings to Tibet when she got married to King Srong Tsang Gampo. The painting style was then adapted by Tibetan thangka art.

"Paubha" the traditional art of Nepal is believed to have been practiced from time immemorial. Due to the lack of documentary evidences it has become difficult to pin point exactly since when and how the painting was practiced and originated in the valley. The word "Paubha" is derived from a Sanskrit word Patrabhattarak. This means depiction of god and goddesses on a flat form.