Himalayan Spirits (Primary Title)
Tsherin Sherpa, born 1968 (Artist)
Sherpa made this monumental painting—his largest to date—for VMFA’s Spirits exhibition. He compares its sweeping composition to Kathmandu’s billboards advertising Bollywood movies, which he remembers from his youth. The main characters—a diverse group of Spirits—are pushed to the front, while small supporting scenes fill the background. The artist describes these miniature vignettes—myriad faceless figures engaged in everyday activities—as his nostalgic mental image of Nepal, imprinted from childhood.
The artist’s Spirits are partly autobiographical, but this panoramic vision emphasizes Sherpa’s insistence that they are not just about him. Likening the assembly to the grand finale and curtain call of a theatrical performance, he imagines the group of eleven as an incomplete troupe of twelve, its final member being the person who stands before the painting. As the artist, then, he is present in the work, but so is every viewer invited to join in the spirited gathering.
Some object records are not complete and do not reflect VMFA's full and current knowledge. VMFA makes routine updates as records are reviewed and enhanced.
