Monday

The Sacred Gift: Tradition and Modernity in the Spiritual Art of Nepal

Detail from Manjushri by Sukha Raj Tamang, 2010. Gouache on cotton.

With great enthusiasm, the Berkeley Shambhala Center is hosting an exhibition of contemporary paintings. You might remember our exhibit, The Divine Feminine in the spring of 2007. The curator, Siddhartha V. Shah, is back along with Barbara Cook bringing still finer, museum-quality work in a major fundraising event for the Berkeley Shambhala Center.

The Sacred Gift

In an ever-changing world where modernity is sweeping across the planet, some of the richest and most ancient cultures are losing their identities. This is a time of rapid transformation where ancient spiritual traditions must not only be invoked for guidance but also preserved for future generations.

The Berkeley Shambhala Center, in collaboration with curators, Siddhartha V. Shah and Barbara Cook, presents a world-class exhibition of rarely seen traditional and contemporary Nepalese art, inviting visitors and students on an artistic journey through the Tantric Hindu and Buddhist traditions of the Kathmandu Valley. Classical and modern deity forms by Nepal’s most talented artists will present the viewer with imagery that reflects on the rich spiritual and artistic traditions of their culture, as well as the evolution of these traditions in contemporary times.

The artists featured in this exhibition have been shown in important museums around the world and have dedicated their lives and spirits to this work. For centuries they have seldom been referred to as “artists,” but merely as laborers for lavish palaces and temples. It is the intention of this exhibition to share these masterworks with the West, assist in the preservation of this artistic tradition, and grace the artists with the honor, dignity, and respect they deserve.

Opening Reception
Our opening reception is Friday, April 22nd at 6 PM in the Berkeley Shambhala Center Streetspace at 2177 Bancroft Avenue in downtown Berkeley. The reception will include an introductory talk by our curators at 7 PM.

Gallery Talk
And on Sunday May 1st at 2 PM, Siddhartha will present, In Defense of the Sacred: The Necessity of Contemporary Sacred Art in Our World Today. He will discuss contemporary movements in Hindu and Buddhist art, the process of working with sacred art as an alchemical tool to facilitate personal transformation, and how this work can support one’s personal practice. By inquiring into both traditional forms of deities and more abstract representations by modern artists, we will explore how evolving traditions of sacred art signal an evolving spirituality in the 21st century.

Gallery Hours
Thursday 2-6
Friday 11-7
Saturday 12-7
Sunday 10-5

For more information please visit: http://berkeley.shambhala.org/sacredgift