Remember That You Will Die
March 19, 2010 - August 9, 2010
Remember That You Will Die: Death Across Cultures explores the concepts of death and the afterlife in the European and Himalayan traditions from about the fourteenth century to the present. Societies rooted in these cultures have developed complex notions of death, often with startling visual counterparts.
In the Shadow of Everest
February 26, 2010 - July 26, 2010
Tibetans know Mount Everest as Chomolungma, "Mother Goddess of the Earth," the place where the land touches the heavens. In her shadow lies the rugged expanse of the Rongbuk Valley where photographer Tom Wool spent four weeks capturing images in 2001. His sensitive photographs of religious and village life provide a glimpse into this remote land.
Visions of the Cosmos
December 11, 2009 - May 10, 2010
Visions of the Cosmos juxtaposes Eastern and Western conceptions of the universe through approximately 70 works, including sculptures, paintings, illuminated manuscripts, rare books and prints from American and European collections, and photographs of the galaxies taken largely by the Hubble Space Telescope. Visions of the Cosmos marks the first opportunity for visitors to compare European works with the museum's Himalayan art collection.
The Red Book of C.G. Jung
October 7, 2009 - February 15, 2010
The Red Book of C.G. Jung marks the first public presentation of what may be considered psychology’s most influential unpublished work. Jung’s fascination with mandalas—Tibetan Buddhist representations of the cosmos used to help reach enlightenment—is evident in these books where mandala structures figure prominently in many sketches and paintings.
Victorious Ones
September 18, 2009 - February 15, 2010
Victorious Ones presents an array of paintings and sculptures depicting the Jinas, the founding teachers of Jainism, and the spaces they sanctify throughout the universe. Central to this Indian ascetic faith, dating from between the 6th and 5th century BCE, is an ethic of nonviolence and respect for all living beings. Images of the Jinas embody these ideals of perfection and serve as objects of devotion through which the Jinas can be accessed.
Mandala
August 14, 2009 - January 11, 2010
The mandala, one of Himalayan Buddhism's most ubiquitous symbols, is created as an artistic aid for meditation. Depicting a realm that is both complex and sacred, the mandala is a visualization tool meant to advance practitioners toward a state of enlightenment. Mandala: The Perfect Circle explores the various manifestations of these objects, their symbolism, how they fulfill their intended function, and their correlation to our physical reality.
A Collector's Passion
June 12, 2009 - November 9, 2009
This exhibition unites objects from Dr. David Nalin's collection and the multiple institutions to which he has donated. Over the last four decades, Dr. Nalin's art collection has grown in scale and scope, spanning South Asia and surrounding regions such as Tibet, Nepal and China.
Stable as a Mountain
March 13, 2009 - July 13, 2009
Portraiture is one of the most powerful and significant expressions of figurative art, and in the Himalayas the subjects of religious portraits are exclusively religious teachers, or gurus. By preserving the physical appearance of a guru, an icon is produced that can charismatically substitute for the teacher in his physical absence. As such these portraits often embody the teachings of the guru and the traits of the enlightened mind.
Nagas: Hidden Hill People of India
March 13, 2009 - September 21, 2009
Residing in the low Himalayan hills of northeastern India and Myanmar (Burma), the Nagas are a people faced with both tradition and transition. This very diverse community is divided into a number of tribes and sub-tribes and speaks as many as 30 different languages.
Patron and Painter
February 6, 2009 - August 17, 2009
A painting tradition established in the traveling courts of the great Tibetan Karmapas, most of what we know of the Encampment Style belongs to its eighteenth-century revival by the great scholar-painter Situ Panchen Chokyi Jungne (1700-1774). A combination of Indo-Nepali and Chinese artistic elements, the Encampment style was fostered under the tutelage and support of Situ, who acted as both artist and patron.
Color & Light
December 12, 2008 - May 11, 2009
South Asia has long been famed for the beauty and diversity of its decoratively stitched cloth. Embroidery served—and to a large extent still serves—multiple functions in daily and religious life, serving as components of clothing, domestic and religious ornamentation, animal covers, and articles of daily use. The exhibition shows the extraordinary diversity apparent in the wide range of colors, patterns, and imagery of the region's textiles.
The Last Nomads
October 31, 2008 - March 2, 2009
The Wuzhu Muqin are the last remaining nomadic tribe in China, and have become Mongolian photographer A Yin's source of inspiration. Yin has become his people's advocate, exposing to the rest of the world the ancient lifestyle they maintain in the face of rapid modernization. Comprised of images captured over ten years, this exhibition offers a striking visual account of daily life in the Inner Mongolian highlands: from the labors of migration to the intimacies of kinship.
The Dragon's Gift
Friday September 19, 2008 @ 10:00 AM
The Dragon's Gift comprises 87 works of art in the New York presentation, including intricate paintings and images created using applique and embroidery framed in brocade, called thangkas; gilt bronze and wooden sculptures; and ritual objects ranging in date from the 8th to the 20th century, with especially strong examples from the 17th through the 19th century.
Buddha in Paradise
May 9, 2008 - August 18, 2008
In this exhibition, thirty paintings lay out the concept of "paradise" in Tibetan Buddhism, understood through different approaches and teachings, the most radical of which confronts us with the realization that paradise is all around us if we are able to perceive it. Poetry and writings by Buddhist masters, including texts that guide the passage from death to rebirth, are provided to accompany the visual communications of these ideas in paintings, textiles, and sculpture.
Red, Black, and Gold
May 2, 2008 - November 10, 2008
This exhibition explores the three unique types of Himalayan painting in which color is used to invoke mood and emotion. Red is for alarm, power, and resolve. Black is for caution, fear, and protection. Gold is for wonder, wealth, and opulence.
Earthly Immortals
April 4, 2008 - August 18, 2008
This exhibition focuses on the high level of skill, sophistication, and creativity of Tibetan artists as they embraced Chinese ideas and combined them with distinctly Tibetan innovations in paintings of arhats—figures recognized as fully realized preservers and transmitters of Buddhist wisdom.
Nepal in Black and White
March 14, 2008 - October 13, 2008
“The realization that not only my camera but also the modern world was making ever-increasing intrusions into even the most remote areas of Nepal compelled me to document a time and way of life slipping inexorably into the past.” —Kevin Bubriski, 1993.
Bon: The Magic Word
October 5, 2007 - April 14, 2008
Bon: The Magic Word is the first exhibition of art to illuminate the Bon, a religious and cultural group living in the Himalayas and Central Asia—a group almost unknown in the Western world.
Written on the Wind
September 14, 2007 - February 11, 2008
Celebrating the opening of RMA in 2004, more than 120 modern versions of traditional Tibetan prayer flags were created by contemporary artists from around the world. Prayer flags, dar cho in Tibetan, are a means of spreading good fortune to all beings and have been a part of Himalayan culture for thousands of years, dating back to the pre-Buddhist Bon tradition.
BIG! Himalayan Art
August 17, 2007 - March 17, 2008
This exhibition presents the largest objects from the RMA collection in a dazzling display of brightly colored paintings and explores the reasons for creating the even larger thangkas.
What Is It?
October 27, 2005 - June 14, 2010
Himalayan art is new terrain for many people. This exhibition is intended to serve as a guide through this exhilarating landscape. It is organized into four sections, each addressing one of four basic questions about Himalayan art.
