AIR- 2021:Young Artists Studio Support Residency Program 2.0
Cultivating Young Talents
Bikalpa Art Center's vision of fostering artistic growth took center stage with the Young Artists Studio Support Residency Program 2.0 (AIR-2021). Launched in December 2021, this residency program provided a platform for two emerging artists, Sushant Rajbhandari (Ryan) and Sunil Pandey, to delve into their creative practices.
For a month, Rayan and Sunil immersed themselves in the vibrant atmosphere of Bikalpa's studio. True to Bikalpa's core values, the residency championed diversity, each artist brought their unique voice and perspective. Rayan, a Kathmandu-based artist pursuing a degree at Srijana College of Fine Arts, explored not only visual arts but also dabbled in the realm of musical art practices. Sunil's artistic journey likely unfolded in a distinct way.
While the residency provided a collaborative space, the focus remained on individual exploration. The artists had the freedom to experiment and innovate within their chosen mediums. This commitment to experimentation and innovation aligns perfectly with Bikalpa's mission to push artistic boundaries.
The residency culminated in an open studio exhibition at the Bikalpa Art Center Gallery. This exhibition offered the public a glimpse into the creative processes of Rayan and Sunil, fostering a sense of connection between the artist and the audience.
Curated by Saroj Mahato
Bikalpa Art Center
Open Studio Exhibition- Young Artists Studio Support Residency Program 2.0
A World of Intertwined Creativity: “Solace of Mind, Fractal Utopia
On December 31st, 2021, Bikalpa Art Center culminated the AIR-2021 residency program with an open studio exhibition titled “Solace of Mind, Fractal Utopia.” This event marked the end of a month-long journey for resident artists Ryan Rajbhandari and Sunil Pandey.
The exhibition showcased a world teeming with intricate details. Ryan and Sunil's works explored a cosmos of tiny microorganism patterns, abstract figures, and biomorphic formations. Juxtaposed within the gallery space, these artworks formed a unique interdisciplinary visual language.
But “Solace of Mind, Fractal Utopia” extended beyond the visual. The evening featured a collaborative sound art performance by guest visual artist Anil Subba. Subba's artistic set, “Amurtariti,” intertwined with the visual elements, creating a truly immersive experience. Additionally, the indie trio music band, “The Trees,” provided a soundscape that further enriched the atmosphere.
This open studio exhibition embodied Bikalpa Art Center's core values. The collaborative spirit between Ryan, Sunil, Anil, and “The Trees” exemplified the program's emphasis on teamwork.
Moreover, the interdisciplinary approach – visual art, sound art, and music – aligned perfectly with Bikalpa's commitment to innovation and experimentation.
“Solace of Mind, Fractal Utopia” wasn't just an exhibition; it was a multisensory exploration that left a lasting impression on all who attended. The event serves as a testament to the power of the residency program to nurture artistic growth and foster a vibrant creative community.
Curatorial Note:
A World of Micro and Macro: A Multisensory Exploration at Bikalpa Art Center
Solace of Mind, Fractal Utopia is a masterful interplay of new mediums and methods, the duo artists, Sunil and Ryan, creating a world that brims with a cosmos of tiny microorganism patterns, abstract figures, and biomorphic formations in an intricate juxtaposition of interdisciplinary visual languages.
“We are all dots of the same circle, we are all connected.”, an extract from the artist’s journal, reflects the idea of the ‘Fractal Utopia’ disseminating the physical reality into micro dimensions and allowing the mind to flow into a meditative state of mind to spontaneously create artworks without a speck of conscious deliberate thoughts. Herein, the duo artist finds a resemblance with the fractals, the recurring patterns within their own selves and nature and they allow the heavenly feeling of connectedness to delve into this unique state of mind.
Solace of Mind, Fractal Utopia is a masterful interplay of new mediums and methods, the duo artists, Sunil and Ryan, creating a world that brims with a cosmos of tiny microorganism patterns, abstract figures, and biomorphic formations in an intricate juxtaposition of interdisciplinary visual languages.
“We are all dots of the same circle, we are all connected.”, an extract from the artist’s journal, reflects the idea of the ‘Fractal Utopia’ disseminating the physical reality into micro dimensions and allowing the mind to flow into a meditative state of mind to spontaneously create artworks without a speck of conscious deliberate thoughts. Herein, the duo artist finds a resemblance with the fractals, the recurring patterns within their own selves and nature and they allow the heavenly feeling of connectedness to delve into this unique state of mind.
Within the domain of physical reality, the conscious wanders with a mental clarity of expression combined with the element of conscious attention in lucid dreams giving a heightened visual perception that enables the artist to comprehend fantastical images that are highly self-reflective based on personal and psychic grounds.
The extensive composition of collaborative combination creates an impact on outermost exchange value beyond the borders of multi-disciplines and helps align with different thoughts. I would personally like to thank all the collaborators, supporters, and friends who works with me and the artists and make this exhibition possible.
I find their works steeped in the beliefs of Eastern philosophy and spirituality. Meditation is often used as the means to observe and understand the nature of the thoughts; how one relentlessly precedes the other and continuously occupies the mind with an aimless stream of thoughts. Through automatism, the duo seeks to maintain equanimity and observes the parts of nature from a non-judgmental point of view.
Simultaneously, transcribing the same pattern of thinking in the artworks, gives us a taste of the realm of their own meditative state of mind as they create them. These diaries and journals are testimonials of their automotive pattern of thinking and creating, a glimpse of their unbiased and incidental process of creation as their thoughts interplay between the connective fractals of nature and a consequent utopian state.
Saroj Mahato,
Bikalpa Art Center, Founder/ Curator
Artists’ brief biography and artistic statements:
Sushant Rajbhandari (Ryan)
Sushant Rajbhandari (Ryan) is an artist based in Kathmandu, who is currently pursuing his bachelor’s at Srijana College of Fine Arts. His interests lie not only in visual arts but across a range of other musical art practices. He is also a band member of ‘Stotram’, an independent experimental musical band.
Creating a surrealistic world by using xenophilic objects, meticulously drawn microcosmic details, connecting dots, and other-worldly shapes relate to how Ryan enters into the realm of his lucid dreams, almost dreamstorming and accessing materials and ideas for his artworks and delves into a state of automation, taking refuge in his meditative creative process. His work seems like an inchoate version of a Baroque style Beksinsky’s paintings.
But these works may not necessarily be a dystopian manifestation of his minds; rather something the exact opposite. Through his unique process of automatism, he seeks to find and express the parallels we have with the universe via the subconscious and the unseen. Embracing different realities that may concur at the same time, the artist focuses on minute rhythmic lines and patterns of the biological world which he meticulously transcribes onto his canvas. He sees the microscopic veins that spread within innumerable parts of nature, plants, rivers, and also within that of our own corporal beings as a reminder that we are all connected; making art, thus, becomes an escape for him from the mundane every day into a reality much deeper and into a reality that helps him understand our affinity with the nature.
Sunil Pandey
Sunil Pandey is an artist from Kathmandu, who is currently pursuing his Master’s degree in fine arts from Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu. “ My drawings liberate me from the bondage of artistic conventions and provide a new medium, a different dimension to explore the subtle reality that lies deep below the superficial one”, says Sunil. Using dark shady charcoal and heavily textured acrylics, Sunil explores the terrains of the subconscious mind within his Landscapes “Solace of Mind”. Almost delving into a state of trance and tranquility, the artist finds himself hooked into a ceaseless momentum of work which he finds to be cathartic and meditative.
His landscapes, which he has created on the basis of a fantastical and figurative world, defy the regular conventions of landscape, at times lacking recognizable geological elements such as mountains, hills, or vistas. These works confound traditional expectations of the landscape genre and propose that the interior world of the psyche is as complex and ripe for exploration as the world beyond our bodies.
The landscape and figures can be perceived as interpretations and representations of the physical beings and structures; and the artist’s observation beyond the apparent physicality, where those types of beings and scapes might reside.
Images from the opening
It was a staggering experience having such a wonderful reception at the opening of ‘Solace of Mind, Fractal Utopia aligning the special occasion of New Year’s Eve and the opening of the New Year 2022! The exhibition will continue until the 14th of January 2022 and the gallery opening hours are from 10 am to 6 pm every day.
Presentation & Workshop – Exhibition Wrap
During the Young Artist Studio Support Residency Program, we’ve had many visitors and art enthusiasts captivated and awe-inspired by the works of these young artists.
We were happy to conduct an artists talk and presentation during the exhibition and mini-workshop on Wednesday, 12th January 2022 starting from 4 pm to 5:30 pm on their work and theme and a thematic approach by the artist duo.
As a part of the project, we eagerly welcome diverse independent individuals/ groups to collaborate, work together, and share knowledge and experience. We are happy to have ‘AMURTARITI’, a solo sound performance by Anil Subba, and ‘Trees’ a trio independent musical band.
AMURTARITI
Amurtariti is a perceptible exploration of metaphorical abstraction, an exploration of inward periphery synchronized with the outward fragments, through time and space, experimenting, improvising, creating new and unpredictable cycles of thoughts and perceptions, providing experimental possibilities to experience the obscured desires for the beauty of artistic seduction.’
The core intention of this act is to create sounds and visuals of a mind suffering from normal to unveil the new normal realities, in which the listener/ viewer is immersed in the disorienting chaos of memories, thoughts, and experiences.
TREES
Trees is a modern folk trio band blending traditional Nepalese music in a contemporary setting. They aspire to create a soulful fusion of ethnic Nepalese sounds with elements of modern pop, jazz, punk, soul, and rock.
And, we come to an end of something and at a new start! We celebrated the end of the duo exhibition 'Solace of Mind, Fractal Utopia' with an Open Mic Jamup Session, BBQ, and lots of beer.
