Embodied Enlightenment Layout

Embodied Enlightenment was the first large-scale retrospective exhibition of Samundra Man Singh Shrestha organized by Bodhisattva Gallery from the collection of Anjana & Purna Man Shakya. The exhibition was held in Kathmandu at Nepal Art Council, Babar Mahal from May 29 to June 9, 2016. The mission of the exhibition was not only to showcase 22 years of Samundra’s journey in the field of Newari paubha art but also to show the new generation the odyssey one has to go through to become an established artist is not fast neither easy. Furthermore, many Newari paubhas tend to stay in private collections and/or outside of Nepal. As a result, the general public is unable to view these magnificent works of art and tend to compare paubha to thanka. This exhibition was envisioned by collector and founder of Bodhisattva Gallery Purna Man Shakya five years ago, in 2011, during the gallery’s first exhibition Jewels of Newar Art at Siddhartha Art Gallery—which showcased the collector’s 25 years of collection. From 2011 to 2016, the collector purchased paintings from the artist himself and from local and international collectors, becoming the largest private collection of Samundra’s masterpieces with 45 paintings. The journey to Embodied Enlightenment has been a tough one for everyone involved but this would not be successful had it not been for the writings by Dr. Dina Bangdel for the exhibition catalog and exhibition curation that was co-curated by Prajwol Man Shakya, director of Bodhisattva Gallery. Would like to thank the photographer Suyesh Shrestha, and graphic designer Niroj Shahi for their continuous support and including the paubha, statue, and woodcarving artist community for their help and encouragement since the very beginning till the end of the exhibition. Would also like to thank Samundra Man Singh Shrestha for lending his key sketches and his initial paintings to the exhibition and to the seven other collectors for lending a total of 10 paintings from their private collection for the exhibition.