born 1972, Kathmandu

B.A. Fine Arts Campus, Kathmandu

Bhairaj's paintings have always revealed his preoccupation with the female form: rural Newari women attending to their day-to-day chores. The re-occuring image of old Newari women, huddled in groups, young Newari women with heavy braids beating rice, carrying firewood, exuding a nonchalant and matter of fact weariness that seemed to symbolize the unbearable lightness of being. The artist's palette formerly consisted of blues, murky purples, muddied reds and browns that lent a somewhat harsh ethos to his paintings.

Since about the time of his marriage the female forms have changed, they are no longer dumpy and heavy. Gone are the shawls that enshrouded the bodies. The women are now young and sensuous and caught in their private and secret moments: sleeping, resting, bathing, oiling their hair. The artists paints them with their long tresses flowing and unbound, symbol of his own newfound freedom of expression.

The artists palette has also undergone dramatic change: warm yellow ochres, whites and reds now dominate the canvas, even when the artist chronicles a tragic moment like a family huddled together in grief. There is no denying that the works of the gentle young man have been undergoing a sublte and positive metamorphosis in the last few years.

(Sangeete Thapa, SIDDHARTA GALLERY, Kathmandu)