Tsherin Sherpa Returns with Fifth Solo Show at Rossi & Rossi

Description

Tsherin Sherpa returns to Rossi & Rossi with Hello Darkness…My Old Friend, his powerful fifth solo exhibition. It delves into souls navigating unfamiliar modern terrains, reflecting the psyche of the Himalayan diaspora and other global diasporas caught between tradition and rapid change. To create this series, Sherpa repurposed black thangka painting, a Himalayan tantric art form symbolising the transformation of negative energies through wrathful protective deities.

In works like “Dwelling Within” and “Wave of Nostalgia II,” Sherpa reshapes these deities into spirits that channel fierce energies to confront the chaos of today’s world. The black backgrounds evoke the overwhelming darkness surrounding these spirits, who assert resilience and transformation, reflecting Buddhist themes of impermanence and emptiness in a contemporary context.

Sherpa trained in traditional Tibetan thangka painting under his father and later evolved his style to merge ancient tantric motifs with contemporary imagery. Living between Nepal and California, the Nepalese artist explores themes of displacement, identity and cultural hybridity, establishing him as a leading voice in contemporary Himalayan art. He has exhibited across the United States, Europe and Asia. Notably, he represented Nepal at the 59th Venice Biennale in 2022, presenting his solo exhibition, Tales of Muted Spirits – Dispersed Threads – Twisted Shangri-La, at the country’s inaugural pavilion.