An interestingnew exhibition of contemporary Tibetan art just opened at the Rubin Museum of Art in New York. ‘Tradition Transformed: Tibetan Artists Respond’ features nine artists each exploring contemporary issues--personal, political, and cultural--by integrating the centuries-old traditional imagery, techniques, and materials found in Tibetan Buddhist art with modern influences and media. Of the nine artists, five were born in Tibet, three come from Nepal and one was born in India, but only three (Dedron, Tenzin Norbu and Penba Wangdu) continue to live in their Himalayan homelands, while the others have emigrated to Europe and the United States. Mostly trained in traditional painting and the strict interpretations prescribed by Buddhist religion, these nine artists break the spiritual formulas and artistic norms by experimenting with alternative media, extracting sacred symbols from their religious context and repurposing them for self-expression.
