BHUWAN THAPA
Sculptor, Gulmi (Province 5), Nepal
Bhuwan Thapa is one of the infrequent names in the Nepali Contemporary Art Scene, particularly in experimental sculpture/3-dimensional works. His work style, selection of materials are quite unique and free. He follows his intuition according to the present time and situation.
The award-winning artists Mr. Thapa’s works have been commissioned and installed in major public spaces in Nepal and abroad. The multiple awards record on his name includes Excellence Award 2015, “SPANDAN” Shimla, India, Fine Arts Award 2014, by Bhadra Kumari Sewa Sadan, Kathmandu, Regional Talent Award 2013 by Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and Aviation, The Arniko National Award, 2006, presented by the National Youth Trust.
Mr. Thapa’s work has been exhibited in numbers of shows in Nepal and abroad; 15th Asian Art Biennale, Bangladesh (2012), Nepal America Art Exhibition (2013), and Mt. Everest 8848, Kathmandu (2012). Mr. Thapa has also participated in multiple international workshops and symposiums including The 12th World Cultural Art Symposium (2014)” held by The Mosan Art Museum, Boryeong, Korea. After years of continuous active involvement, he did his first solo mixed media sculpture/ installation exhibition entitled ‘Self Realization’ at Nepal Art Council, Babarmahal, Kathmandu, Nepal in 2016.
Mr. Thapa holds MFA from Tribhuvan University, Central Department of Fine Arts, Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal and currently working as a faculty at Kathmandu University, Center for Art and Design, Hattiban, Lalitpur.
His involvements include Assembly Member (2010-14) at Nepal Academy of Fine Art (NAFA), President of Nepal Arts Foundation, Kathmandu, Senior Vice President at Nepal Fine Arts forum, Kathmandu, Vice President of DOOR Contemporary Art Foundation, Nepal and President of ARAMBHA Contemporary Nepali Sculptors’ Group, Kathmandu.
Little things in life
Bhuwan Thapa Bahuvi’s solo sculpture exhibition, Self-realization, urges one to appreciate the mundane things in life
Two slices of wood hung up one over the another, on a slope, or a carved log with a hook at one end or a plain log with a flat curve at its ends—the artwork on display at Bhuwan Thapa Bahuvi’s ongoing solo sculpture exhibition, Self-realization, are minimal in design and are mostly the replicas of things that we happen to stumble upon in our daily lives—objects which we seldom care to look at and, more often than not, just plainly overlook.
The exhibit boasts the things that we identify with but then also things we are baffled by. For instance: the aforementioned plain log with a flat curve at one end. Pat yourself on the back if this particular piece of art strikes you as anything more than a hockey stick. Regarding this particular piece of art, Thapa, who is also a faculty member at the Kathmandu University of Fine Arts, was once questioned by one of his students. “What is this all about?
I see nothing about or around it.” Overcome with a sudden whimsy, Thapa replied, “What is it not about?” The student looked on, dazed. Thapa went on: “It is about greed, it is about lust, it is about obsession.” Touching this particular piece of art, hung on the ceiling at Nepal Art Council’s first floor, Thapa confided to me in his thick baritone, “It also looks like the tongue of a lusty bull”, and chuckled, which he often does when an observer offers him with an interpretation on any of his artwork.
When we go about living we often don’t care or have the time to ponder on the little things that we stumble upon. What would you think about when you see a radio now? Obviously, it is sure to evoke a feeling of nostalgia. Thapa’s artwork has that power. The myriad shapes, when you look close enough, are sure to send an avalanche of emotions hurling through you. For example, the fishing hook: It took me back to my childhood and then as I completed a round and took a peek at it once again, it reminded me of the old man in The Old Man in the Sea, which I’d read a while ago— another champion of celebrating little things in life.
When Thapa goes about creating an artwork, he first looks around and then inside himself. There are two ways in which Thapa goes about churning out art. Either he sees the source material (he also works with stone) and realises he can give it a shape he desires. Or, he plays with a definite shape in his mind for a while, draws the shape and then he goes about finding the material that would serve him. Thapa’s works are no game changers, do not have a particular theme, and are not even informative in the least. “I construct what I see, that is all. The current exhibition is the outcome of my past, my present, with my imagination included, and the prospects of future,” says Thapa. On display at the exhibition are some of the most mundane things you can think of. There is an apple, half-cut. There is a collection of brick-like substances stacked one upon another. There are two bricks entwined with a sun and a moon carved into them, our national emblems. Looking at the work, created almost entirely after the quakes rattled the country, one can guess Thapa’s motives—particularly with the recurring themes playing with bricks. And then there are a pair of footprints. The footprint is strange for it is entangled within itself. It can move sideways but not forwards or backwards.
The exhibition constitutes these little things that, however we may neglect, matter. The artworks are the reflections of what the artist saw during his course of life and managed to find a lasting impression in his mind. In other words, these are pieces that made the artist realise the beauty around him and to connect that beauty to himself. Hence, honest, the artist has titled the current exhibit Self-realization.
The artworks on display may be minimal in their forms but are maximum in their effect.
Text by Timothy Aryal Source The Kathmandu Post
Academic Qualification
Master of Fine Arts, M.F.A. (Sculpture), Central Department Of Fine Art, T.U. Kirtipur, Kathmandu, Nepal
Faculty: Kathmandu University, Center for Art and Design, Hattiban, Lalitpur
Solo Exhibition
2016 “Self-Realization” Sculpture Exhibition
Nepal Art Council, Babarmahal, Kathmandu
Participation in Workshop/Symposium
2019 International Marble Art Camp
National Art Gallery, Langkawi, Malysia
2019 Stainless Steel Sculpture Workshop
Nepal Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA)
Sita Bhawan, Naksal, Kathmandu
2019 ‘Devdaha’ National Wood Sculpture Workshop
Devdaha, Lumbini
2017 Kathmandu Triennale 2017 (24 March-19April)
Siddhartha Art Foundation & S.M.A.K.
2015 Wood Sculpture Workshop (8 -11, June)
Hatemalo Abhiyan -2015
Nepal Art Council, Babar Mahal, Kathmandu
2014 “The 12th World Cultural Art Symposium”(15 Sep.-15th Oct.)
The Mosan Art Museum, Boryeong, Korea
2014 Portrait Workshop 2014 (5,April)
Sirjana College of Fine Arts
2013 International Sculpture Symposium, Pokhara (17 sep. 1st Oct.)
Nepal Academy of Fine Arts
2012 MT. Everest-8848 ART Projet l, Kathmandu (20 sep.-19 Oct.) by
Da Mind Tree/The ART Club, Nepal
2012 Residential Sculpture workshop (19th February – 2nd March)
As a Co-coordinator, Nepal Academy of Fine Art
Sita Bhawan, Naxal, Kathmand
2012 National Sculpture Symposium, Butwal (25th Dec.-7th Jan.)
Nepal Academy of Fine Arts/ CAAN,Rupandehi
2012 SAMYOJAN Workshop on ARTENGINEERING, Dhulikhel (11th -15th June)
As a Supervising Faculty, Art & Design, K.U.
2012 …From Portrait to Self-Portrait…
Photographer Antonio Nodar, UK
Kathmandu Contemporary Art Centre (KCAC),Nepal
2011 An Interactive 3D Sculpture Workshop
Nepal Academy of Fine Art
Sita Bhawan, Naxal, Kathmandu
2011 Collaborative Art Work
‘LASANA’ Alternative Art Space (Jyamirekot, Lalitpur)
2011 Cultural Festival
CULTURE 4 PEACES (KCAC, Jhamsikhel, Lalitpur)
2010 Live Art Hub (17th -21st June)
‘LASANA’ Alternative Art Space (Jyamirekot, Lalitpur)
2009 Wooden Sculpture Workshop
Rising Artist Group Nepal
Nepal Tourism Board, Bhrikuti Mandap , Kathmandu
2009 ‘TISA ‘ Stone Sculpture Workshop – 1129 ( Nepal Sambat )
Tisa Sahitya Pala
Fine Arts Campus , Bhotahity , Kathmandu
2008 A Beautiful Waste 8848 (1st-6th June)
Rotary Club of Nepal & ARAMBHA Contemporary Nepali Sculptors’ Group
Nepal Tourism Board, Bhrikuti Mandap , Kathmandu
2007 Wood Sculpture Workshop (23rd – 27th may)
‘Artist Society of Nepal ‘
Nepal Association of Fine Arts (NAFA) Sitabhawan , Naxal , Kathmandu
2006 ‘HARMONY’ Stone Sculpture Symposium
Celebrating the 50th Anniversary Nepal & Japan , Diplomatic
Relationship, ARAMBHA Contemporary Nepali Sculptors’ Group & Tokoname – Nepal Society , Japan
Nepal Association of Fine Arts (NAFA)Sitabhawan, Naxal , Kathmandu
2005 Wood Sculpture Symposium (21st July – 4th August)
Sirjana College of Fine Arts & ARAMBHA Group
Sirjana College, Kamaladi , Kathmandu
2005 The First Stone Sculpture Symposium (18th June – 2nd July)
ARAMBHA (Contemporary Nepali Sculptors’ Group )
Sitabhawan , Naxal , Kathmandu
2004 Art against the Racial Discrimination (21st March)
Jagaran Media Centre, Nepal Art Council, Babarmahal , Kathmandu
2003 Ceramics Training Course (3rd March – 31st Sep.)
SOS Ceramics Training Workshop , Sanothimi , Bhaktapur
Participation in Group Art Exhibition
2019 ‘Bandhutwa’ Nepal-Bangladesh Art Exhibition
Nepal Art Council, Babar Mahal, Kathmand
2018 18th Asian Art Biennale-2018, Bangaladesh Shilpa Academy Dhaka
2018 National Art Exhibition
Nepal Academy of Fine Art, Naxal, Kathmandu
2018 National Art Festibal
National Culture Center, Jamal, Kathmandu
2017 National Fine Arts Exhibition (19 June-4 July)
Nepal Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA)
2017 HOMES (Group Art Exhibition)
Taragaon Museum, Bouddha, Kathmandu
2016 International Art Exhibition
National Cultural Centre, Jamal, Kathmandu, Nepal
Nepal Fine Art Forum
2015 “SPANDAN” Colorful Universe
International Art and Craft Festival (5-9 Oct.)
Himanchal Pradesh, Shimla, India
2014 Group Art Exhibition
Siddhartha Art Gallery, Babar Mahal, Kathmandu
2011-19 National Art Exhibition
Nepal Academy of Fine Art, Naxal, Kathmandu
2012 MT. Everest-8848 ART Project l – Kathmandu and Pokhara
Da Mind Tree/The ART Club, Nepal
2012 15th Asian Art Biennale-2012, Bangaladesh Shilpa Academy Dhaka
2013 ART EXHIBITION OF ACADEMICIANS, Araniko exhibition gallery (NFA)
by Neal Academy of Fine Arts
2013 Namaste-Embracing Culture , Nepal America Art Exhibition , Kathmandu by
Nepal Academy of Fine Arts
2012 Fine art Festival-2012
Nepal Fine Art association,
Nepal Art Council, Babar Mahal, Kathmandu, Nepal
2012 …From Portrait to Self-Portrait…
Kathmandu Contemporary Art Centre (KCAC)
Patan Museum, Lalitpur
2009 Sworna Mahotsab Art Exhibition
Shree Dharmapur Higher Secondary School
Thulo Lhumpek ,Gulmi,Lumbin
2009 Garbage Out of Thin Air
WWF A living planet (Nag Pokhari , Naxal , Kathmandu)
2008 ‘SAMBAHAK’ Brihad Kala Pardarshani
Lalitkala Mancha, Nepal (On Butwal , Lumbini)
2008 Art Space, Naxal, Kathmandu
2007 First National Sculpture Exhibition
ARAMBHA Contemporary Nepali Sculptors’ Group
Nepal Association of Fine Arts (NAFA) , Naxal, Kathmandu
2007 ‘SAGALO ‘ Art Exhibition
Fine Arts Forum, Nepal
Art Council, Babar Mahal, Kathmandu
1996-2004 Nation Art Exhibition
Nepal Association of Fine Arts (NAFA) , Sitabhawan , Naxal
2005 ‘ ASON ‘ National Art Exhibition – 2005
Artist’ Society of Nepal
Sita Bhawan , Naxal , Kathmandu
1998/99 ‘ Art Fair‘
Fine Arts Campus, Bhotahity , Kathmandu
1998 Rangalal Bandel ( Brihad Kala Pradarshani )
Nepal Art Council, Babar Mahal , Kathmandu
1993/95 T.U. Day Art Exhibition – 1993/95
Fine Arts Campus, Kathmandu
Sculpture Collection and Installed
2019 Holley Land (Devdaha, Lumbini)- Dimension: 72″x30″x30″, Medium: Wood
2017 Silver Jubilee Monument (Kathmandu University, Dhulikhel, Kabhre)- Dimension: 14’x7’x7′, Medium: Stones
2017 Purna Kajasha (Tara Gaon Museum, Bauddha, KTM)- Dimension:15’x8’x8′, Medium: Steel, River Stones
2015 Trap of Tower (Nepal Art Council Museum, Babar Mahal, KTM)- Dimension: Variables, Medium: Wood
2014 Life, Love and Luck (Mosan Art Museum, Boryeong, South Korea)- Dimension: 14’x7’x7′, Medium: Black Granite
2013 No. 6 (Komagone Park, Pokhara- Dimension: 60″x48″x30″, Medium: stone
2013 Symbol of Knowledge (Shree Gyan Shiksha Mandir, Kapan, KTM)- Dimension: 40″x40″x40″ , Medium: Metal Sheet
2012 The peak of Unity (Shilpakala Museum, Shilpkala Academy, Dhaka, Bangladesh)- Dimension: 72″x48″x36″, Medium: Terracotta
2010 Reflection (NAFA Museum, Sita Bhawan, Naxal, KTM.)- Dimension: 74″x30″x30″, Medium: Mix
2010 Wheel of Life (Kathmandu University, Dhulikhel, Kabhre)- Dimension: Variables, Medium: Cement
2010 Target (Kathmandu University, Dhulikhel, Kabhre)- Dimension: Variables, Medium: Metal Sheet
2010 Movement (Kathmandu University, Dhulikhel, Kabhre)- Dimension: Variables, Medium: Paper Mache
2010 Parcel (Hill Park, Butwal)- Dimension: Variables, Medium: Stone
2010 Birth of Walls (Tribhuvan University, Central Department of Fine Arts, Kritipur)- Dimension: Variables, Medium: Stone and Cement
2009 Awakening (Tribhuvan University, Central Department of Fine Arts, Kritipur)- Dimension: Variables, Medium: Iron rod and Pebbles
2009 Tribhuvan (Kathmandu University, Dhulikhel, Kabhre)- Dimension: 50″x42″x27″, Medium: Iron
2007 Filtration (Kathmandu University, Dhulikhel, Kabhre)- Dimension: 98″x30″x30″, Medium: Iron
Awards
2015 Excellence Award, “SPANDAN” Colorful Universe
International Art and Craft Festival (5-9 Oct.)
Himanchal Pradesh, Shimla, Indea
2014 Fine Arts Award by Bhadra Kumari Sewa Sadan , kathmandu
2013 Regional Talent Award by Ministry of Culture , Tourism & Civil Aviation , Nepal
2006 Araniko Young Artist Award, 2064: Nation Youth Trust, KTM, Nepal
2006 Creative Yong Sculptor, 2064: Nepal Fine Art Critic Society, KTM, Nepal
2006 Special Award: The First Nation Sculpture Exhibition by ARAMBHA (contemporary
Nepali Sculptors’ Group), KTM, Nepal
2004 Second Prize: 36th Nation Art Exhibition, Organized by Nepal Association of Fine Art
(NAFA), Naxal, Kathmandu
Involvement
Assembly Member (2010-14): Nepal Academy of Fine Art (NAFA)
President : ARAMBHA Contemporary Nepali Sculptors’ Group , Kathmandu
Vice President : DOOR Contemporary Art Foundation, Nepal
Member: Lions Club of Ktm Fine Arts, Kathmandu
- Art is a necessary tool against indifference
- भुइँचालो ल्याउने दुइटा प्लेटलाई किलाकाँटी ठोकेर राख्न मिल्दैन?
- कलाका पुञ्ज ‘प्रकाश’ (तस्विरसहित)
- Carving the Quake Experience, The Himalayan Times
- Little things in life, Kathmandu Post
- http://www.dcnepallive.com/video/events.php?nid=7834
- http://www.dcnepalonline.com/news/model-photo.php?nid=202558
- भूकम्पपछि बनेकाे त्रासद मूर्तिकला हेर्न उपराष्ट्रिपति पुगे आर्ट काउन्सिल, Khabar Dabali
- http://abctvlive.com/?p=44307
- http://www.damindtree.com/va.html
- मनको कुरा लेख्ने हैन ? , US Nepal Online
- Purna Kalasha (Full/Complete vessel), Kathmandu Triennale, 2017