The Audacity of Nope by Gonkar Gyatso
Delighted to see these new works by Gonkar Gyatso in Tricycle’s online gallery exhibition of contemporary Himalayan art featuring his work. Gonkar Gyatso’s work first entered my consciousness at a group exhibition of contemporary Tibetan artists’ work at Tibet House US many years ago, and I have enthusiastically followed his work ever since.
In person, the glossy and glittery stickers pull you in and flood your kawaii-receptors with pleasure. The precise iconometric proportions of the figure provide a feeling of harmony. The image is the meditation in the tradition of liberation upon seeing. But beyond the buddha, the pencil text reveals all the places the mind goes while in meditation. And makes me laugh out loud.It works on so many levels it’s genius. And gorgeous.
Excuse Me While I Kiss the Sky by Gonkar Gyatso
Gyatso’s Buddha in Our Time and Shambhala of Modern Times are featured in the Roundabout exhibition, which recently graced City Gallery in Wellington and will soon alight in the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, Israel on 21 October 2011 and continue until 20 January 2012.
The exhibition also feels particularly relevant today, the anniversary of Martin Luther King’s I Have a Dream Speech, as the organizing theme for Roundabout is a quote from MLK’s “Where Do We Go From Here?” speech delivered in Atlanta, Georgia in August of 1965:
If you’re in NYC, don’t miss upcoming Tibet House US group exhibition featuring work by another favorite artist, Tim Johnson: Tibetan Contemporary Art: Tantric Vision in Modern Self-Expression, September 14 – November 15, 2011 with an opening reception September 14, 6-8pm.