The Nepal Art Council in Babarmahal is currently hosting an art exhibition, titled Embodied Enlightenment, presented by Bodhisattva Gallery, featuring pauva paintings by artist Samundra Man Singh Shrestha. This exhibition features the artist’s works that were compiled by a married couple Anjana Shakya and Purna Shakya. The exhibit was inaugurated by French ambassador to Nepal, Yves Carmona, on Monday.

The exhibit features 60 pieces of pauva paintings.

Not only does this exhibition bring together a collection of paintings from many sources, including both national and international private collections, it also showcases the artist’s works that were long overdue to be put on display.

The opening ceremony on Monday saw artists, curators, critics, directors of various galleries and art enthusiasts come together to discuss art.

Speaking during the opening, art critic Ramesh Khanal discussed Shrestha’s works in light of the contemporary Nepali paubha painting scene, “Samundra Man is an emerging artist in the scene. Not only is he versatile, creative and talented, he is also notable for his unconventional ways of painting, and desire to experiment, which confirms a unique value to his paintings.”

“Paubha painting is an art that demands a high degree of extremely refined technical skills,” shared artist Shrestha, “As paubha paintings are guided by traditional iconography, being creative is challenging. However, working as an artist for two decades, I believe I have tried to create something of my own, in terms of the material and stylisation.”

The exhibit will feature a talk series with Robert Beer (on the nuances of paubha painting) and with Dina Bangdel (on the comparison of paubha painting in the past and present), which is slated to be held on the May 30 and on June 9, both of the talks starting at 4 pm. And with Dina Bangdel’s talk on June 9, the exhibit will mark its end.