LONDON.- Rossi & Rossi present Darkness Into Beauty, their second solo show by Tibetan artist Tenzing Rigdol.
The show will feature a brand new body of works along with a crucial earlier painting from 2004, Brief History of Tibet, which during recent years has been travelling as part of the exhibition Missing Peace. His works, using hand blocked scripture, silk collage and printed images alongside more traditional painting techniques, are the impassioned product of collective influences and interpretations of age-old traditions. Often making reference to philosophy and addressing issues of human conflict they have strong political undertones, an unavoidable element in his art. His Tibetan heritage plays a deeply important, vital part in his life as well as his artworks which can be viewed as portraits of his homeland. Often containing highly charged images such as photographs of the Dalai Lama, protesting youths set amongst tongues of flames directly alluding to the recent immolations of nuns and monks.
Rigdol is perhaps the most vocal of the young Tibetan artists – although quietly spoken by nature – He has in recent years become the focus for young Tibetans in the West, partially because of his political stance and partly because of his 'Soil Project' from 2011. This forceful and eloquent event saw him covertly transport 20 tonnes of soil out of Tibet, taking it to the Tibetan capital in exile, Dharamsala where it was used to build a platform that allowed dispersed Tibetans who live there to walk on the soil of their country once again. This was an act - deeply emotional for many who experienced it - of great resonance for Tibetans from around the world
2014 will see him as one of only two contemporary Tibetan artists included in the exhibition Tibet and India: New Beginnings organized by the Metropolitan Museum New York.
Rigdol was born in Nepal in 1982 before moving to India with his parents. He studied painting at Kathmandu and in 2001 he went to Shekar Chorten Monastery to learn sand painting and butter sculpture to enhance his knowledge of the symbolism and motifs of Buddhist art and Philosophy. Later he moved to Denver, Colorado to complete a BFA in painting drawing and art history, and now lives and works in New York.
