Himalayan Art Reimagined

Before The Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art "went global" and shuttered its six-floor exhibition space in Chelsea, it mounted the only exhibition in two decades that lured me inside.

"Kipamkara Buddha Is Pop Art" by Manish Lal Shrestha (partial, 2021/23)

The spiral staircase is a remnant of the old Barney's department store which formerly occupied the space.  It probably induces tears of nostalgia among bargain hunters who filled their closets with designer clothing  from the store's annual sale.

Of course I checked out the permanent collection, too.  Reproductions of murals depicting yogic practices from the Lukhang Temple in Tibet cover the walls of one room.

Bodhisattva Maitreya (India, 12th century)

Luckily for the financially strapped institution, this Tibetan Buddhist shrine room found a permanent home at the Brooklyn Museum.

Although ignorance of Christianity can limit my understanding of its iconography in Renaissance art, I had zilch knowledge to fall back on when looking at the work of contemporary artists who re-imagined Himalayan art for the Rubin's final exhibit. Still, that didn't stop me from appreciating the work on a purely aesthetic basis.  I responded to "Silhouette in the Graveyard from the Scorpion" by Chitra Ganesh with child-like pleasure while recognizing it also has something to say about the current state the world

That was less true of other equally compelling and colorful works, which now have traveled to Chicago in keeping with the museum's new mission.  Many of the artists appear to have been nurtured by a spicy diet of anime, manga, surrealism and graphic novel illustration

"Compassion" by Jasmine Rajbhandari (2023)

"The Protectors" by Jupiter Pradhan (2023)

"Chants of a Monkey Mind" by Tenzin Gyurmey Dorjee (detail, 2023)

. . . and an occasional blast of American punk.

"A Crime with Mother" by Tenzin Gyurmey Dorjee (detail, 2022)

"Energy" by Roshan Pradhan (2023)

"Whispering Whistle" by Bharat Rai (2023)

"Doku-Hell #3" by Luyang (2022)