London, 9 October 2012
The Rossi & Rossi Gallery in London presents from 12 October to 30 November 2012 the exhibition “Tibetan Spirit”, by the artist Tsherin Sherpa.
Tsherin Sherpa, born in 1968, currently lives and works in California. The artist has studied Buddhist philosophy in Nepal, and Tibetan traditional painting with his father, Master Urgen Dorje Sherpa.
As indicated in the press release of the exhibition, he finds inspiration in his experience as an artist of traditional thangka (painting on canvas, emblematic of Tibetan culture). Indeed his works uses the Tibetan Buddhist iconography, with the representation of a protective god and spirits. In Tibetan culture, these spirits belong to very precise and localized geographic spaces. On the contrary, Tsherin Sherpa illustrates the notion of migration, imagining those spirits willing to insert themselves in an alien society, with a different way of thinking and another culture. The artist then combines symbols, such as a spirit holding a Rubik’s Cube covered with small symbols: smileys, the swastika, dollar, etc. He thus makes a parallel with the displacement of the Tibetan people to new territories. His work explores the necessity of cultural integration, in order to outlive in this globalized society, and the social metamorphosis it causes.
In anticipation of this exhibition, the Rossi & Rossi Gallery is also planning a lecture on 13 October 2012 11.30 am: Tsherin Sherpa will focus on the issues of cultural change, Tibetan diaspora, and the perpetual quest for identity in our contemporary world.