KATHMANDU

Samarpan, a solo painting exhibition by contemporary artist Kiran Manandhar, is a display of different forms of Hindu deities, which ultimately is a reflection of his beliefs, devotion to spiritual power, and a dedication to his "inspirations, art lovers, artists, family, well-wishers, and gurus". A total of 42 pieces - 38 made using acrylic on canvas and four made using charcoal on Nepali handmade paper - are a part of the exhibition that began in Siddhartha Art Gallery, Babermahal Revisited on July 24. The paintings were created between 2016 to 2022, as per the artist.

Sharing that Samarpan is all about his "beliefs, devotion, dedication and duties", Manandhar expressed that the Nepali people's dedication to the deities motivated him to depict them in his work. "Nepal is a land of gods. The gods are Niranjan (spotless and pure). Nepali people pray to different deities and perform varied rituals. And I have captured different forms of those deities that emerged in my heart and mind while I was in front of my canvas," he shared.

The pieces in the exhibition explore the themes of faith, love, female power, and divine power, among others.

One can see paintings of deities like Krishna, Kali, Bishnu, Ganesha, Shiva, Parvati, and the living goddess Kumari in the exhibition. The artist has created as many as 18 paintings of one deity - Goddess Kali. The ferocious goddess is seen wearing a garland of skulls in all the paintings which are a reflection of her different moods.

For instance, a painting (there is no individual title of the paintings on display) has the goddess wearing a garland of 11 devil heads, and brandishing a sword in one of her four hands. She is standing against a red background and stepping on a white bull.

This particular painting enhances the fiery quality of the goddess with the use of the colour red. Her angry eyes and the white bull add to the boldness.

Each of the paintings of the goddess is layered with a rich texture, and diverse colours like red, black, yellow and blue. Painted with hands, without using a brush has added to the painting's rich texture. The use of red and black among others in some of the artworks gives an impression of a fearsome, angry, and bold goddess, while blue and yellow colours have made the goddess look peaceful yet threatening. "Kali is my main goddess. I have made her look very bold in some of the paintings because I feel every woman must know how to defend herself. If necessary, the woman should change into Kali to protect herself because there are so many crimes happening in the present world," shared the artist.

Moving beyond Manandhar's devotion to Goddess Kali, one can see his fascination for Lord Krishna in five other paintings. The vibrant and colourful works illustrate the artist's devotion and dedication to the deity while also letting the viewers enjoy the beauty of nature. One of the paintings on display is a beautiful work of art with the dominance of green colour. Lord Krishna is seen sitting near a river bank playing a flute. One feels relaxed looking at this painting. Manandhar said, "Lord Krishna is my favourite god and I am a great devotee of his and his creed."

The calm and angry moods of Lord Ganesha, are depicted via the use of multiple colours - red, yellow, blue, and green - in the eight paintings. In some paintings, one can see Lord Ganesha holding damaru while he is carrying sweets in others.

Another painting is of Lord Shiva and Goddess Parvati - the duo are embracing one another against a yellow background. Lord Shiva is seen with a trident in his hand and a serpent wrapped around his neck whereas the Goddess Parvati is in a white sari. The painting is overflowing with an expression of love. Plus each deity in the painting has one eye only, a symbol that they are one soul in two bodies. Nonetheless, not every form/shape in the painting is clear and it is up to the viewers to get a complete picture. "This painting is a symbol of love and power. I have kept this painting unclear as it is one of my styles of performing artwork - I like to play with paintings with a minimalistic approach so it is easy to make paintings," shared the artist.

Manandhar also revealed that he aimed "to enhance contemporary art and maintain our tradition and culture" through this exhibition. He hopes such exhibitions will provide a chance for the young generation of artists to learn new things, and get a chance to interact with experienced individuals as a result of which they will learn a lot about Nepali art.

The exhibition is on till August 26.

A version of this article appears in the print on July 29, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.