Himalayan News Service

Kathmandu:

Choi Go-dam and Yom Seon-jeong a Korean couple settled in Nepal, always dreamt of opening an art gallery to exhibit works of artists from Nepal and abroad. They realised their dreams with the opening of their ‘Buddha Art Gallery’ on May 3. At the inauguration, a solo photo exhibition cum sale ‘The Traces of Buddha’ by Choi Go-dam was organised. Sangita Thapa, curator of Siddhartha Art Gallery; Biplove Prateek, senior poet; Pundit Bhavanath Sharma, senior Dhrupad singer and the couple themselves inaugurated the exhibition.

His Excellency Keith Bloomfield, British Ambassador said, “The displayed photographs are very beautiful. Choi Go-dam has succeeded in catching magical glimpses of Buddha.” Sangita Thapa said, “The photographs capture the feeling of light and compassion.”

The exhibited pictures are those of the Buddha in the Ajanta caves in central India. Choi said, “It was a mammoth task to take the pictures in the ill-lit caves since, as a policy matter, it is forbidden to use artificial lights for photography. As a result I had to rely upon shutter speed to take the appropriate shots without tripod. ” Photographer Mani Lama stated, “There is no doubt that Choi has deep insight into the intricacies of photography and he is a photographer par excellence. He plays magically with colour and light.” The photo exhibition is on till May 17.

The new gallery will offer visitors poetry recitals regularly and a programme on Buddhist culture once a month. Along with the gallery, the couple have also opened a cosy café — ‘Zen’ — where one can brood over a cup of tea or coffee in a serene atmosphere.The gallery is open everyday from 9 am to 7 pm and entrance is free.