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Almine Rech

Tsherin Sherpa

Born in Kathmandu, Nepal in 1968, Tsherin Sherpa currently works and lives between Kathmandu (Nepal) and Northern California (USA). He was trained in thangka painting by his father Master Urgen Dorje, eventually drawing on this vocabulary to create artworks that incorporate Buddhist iconography and pop culture references. His works offer an interplay and tension between sacred/secular, traditional/contemporary, settlement/movement. Sherpa’s practice stems from his personal experiences within the Himalayan Diaspora as well as the nomadic history of Himalayan people. His experimentations with visual languages adapt, reimagine, and reappropriate identities, symbols, colors, and gestures to surpass their chronological and cultural constrictions.

Sherpa has exhibited across the United States, Europe and Asia that includes representing Nepal at the inaugural participation at the Venice Biennale in 2022. He has also been part of Yokohama Triennale (2020); Yinchuan Biennale (2018); Kathmandu Triennale (2017); Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art, Brisbane  (2015-16); and Dhaka Art Summit (2014).  

His work is included in private collections around the world, as well as in the collections of Victoria & Albert Museum, London; Rubin Museum of Art, New York; Queensland Art Gallery & Gallery of Modern Art, Australia; Asian Art Museum, San Francisco; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts; World Museum, Liverpool; Samdani Art Foundation, Dhaka and Uli Sigg Collection. In February 2022 the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts presented his first museum mid-career retrospective.  

Selected artworks

  • Tsherin Sherpa,                                      Multiple Protector, 2014

    Tsherin Sherpa Multiple Protector, 2014

    Pale gold leaf, acrylic and ink on paper 
    121.9 x 149.9 cm
    48 x 59 in

  • Tsherin Sherpa,                                      Book Cover, 2016

    Tsherin Sherpa Book Cover, 2016

    Gold leaf, acrylic and ink on paper
    21.6 x 71.1 cm
    8 1/2 x 28 in

  • Tsherin Sherpa,                                      Blue Protector, 2012

    Tsherin Sherpa Blue Protector, 2012

    Gold leaf, acrylic and ink on canvas
    152.4 x 121.9 cm
    60 x 48 in

  • Tsherin Sherpa,                                       Wisdom&Compassion, 2013

    Tsherin Sherpa Wisdom&Compassion, 2013

    Gold leaf, acrylic and ink on canvas
    152.4 x 182.9 cm
    60 x 72 in

  • Tsherin Sherpa,                                      Allomorph, 2015

    Tsherin Sherpa Allomorph, 2015

    Pale gold leaf, acrylic and ink on paper 
    47 x 47 cm
    18 1/2 x 18 1/2 in

Gallery exhibitions

Museum exhibitions

Selected press