KASTHAMANDAP artist collective, Nepal :  

"7 young artists from Kathmandu"

CHAUTARA proudly presents a new group show of the seven KASTHAMANDAP artists from Kathmandu. Three women (Erina Tamrakar, Sunila Bhajracharya, Pramila Bhajracharya) and four men (Asha Dangol, Bhairaj Maharjan, Binod Pradan, Pradeep Bhajracharya) will be showing works they created in 2006 and 2005.

Erina Tamrakar
Sunila Bhajracharya
Pramila Bhajracharya
Asha Dangol
Bhairaj Maharjan
Binod Pradan
Pradeep Bhajracharya

This private cluster or cloister of private studios was the first of its kind in Nepal. The group consisted then (and consists now) of both men and women: Erina Tamrakar, Pramila Bajracharya, Sunila Bajracharya and the men Asha Dangol, Binod Pradhan, Pradeep Bajracharya and Bhairaj Maharjan. The dynamics of being a group was to yield both predictable and unpredictable dividends. The bonhomie or comraderie enjoyed by the group was self-evident in the artworks created by its members. Almost all paintings carried the indelible influence in both form, style, and content of Prashanta Shrestha, the founder of the group who died prematurely at age 31 in 1999.

After Prashanta's untimely death, the Kasthamandap Group had suddenly and sadly lost its inspirational leader. For a while the group dedicated itself to mourning its founding member by setting up a retrospective exhibition of Prashanta's paintings to honor his memory. Artistic projects and workshops were also initiated to set up a "Prashanta Memorial Society" with the aim of creating a revolving trust fund that would organize art activities and award partial scholarships to talented young artists.

Ultimately these sad happenings were to push each member of the group to find a new direction and a new approach to their work. Distinct individual styles within the group began to evolve around this time. However, the selection of colors, squeezed out on the palette and applied to the canvas remained unchanged for a while and it was Prashanta's legacy to survive in the brush strokes of the Kasthamandap Group.

Time gives birth to new situations. Today, the young artists of the Kasthamandap Group are married and have young children. The fact that the group has remained intact, bears testimony to their resilience and dedication to the Arts.

(Sangeeta Thapa, SIDDHARTA GALLERY, Kathmandu)