Solace of Mind, Fractal Utopia,

We are thrilled to announce a duo exhibition ‘Solace of Mind, Fractal Utopia’ by the two ‘Young Artists Studio Support Residency Program 2.0’ recipients Mr. Ryan Rajbhandari and Mr. Sunil Pandey. The exhibition is planned for Friday, 31st December 2021, from 5 pm onwards at Bikalpa Art Center.

Solace of Mind, Fractal Utopia is a masterful interplay of new mediums and methods, the duo artists creating a world that brim with a cosmos of tiny microorganism patterns, abstract figures, and biomorphic formations in an intricate juxtaposition in a form of interdisciplinary visual language.

The exhibition will incorporate drawings from both of the artist’s visual journal/diaries, some painting, light and sound installation art, a collaborative sound art performance by a visual artist, Anil Subba with his artistic set named Amurtariti, a projection mapping, live art performance, experimental music set by Ryan and team and an indie trio musical band, ‘The Trees’ performance.

Curated by Saroj Mahato

Event details:

Opening reception 5:00 pm- 6:30 pm
Performance by Anil Subba, accompanied by a live painting by Sunil Pandey: 6:30 pm – 7:30 pm
Fractal Utopia Musical set by Ryan and team 7:30 pm – 9:00 pm
The Trees musical band performance 9:300 pm onwards….
The gallery opening hours will be 10: 00 am – 6:00 pm every day and the exhibition will continue until 14th January 2022

Curatorial Note:

Solace of Mind, Fractal Utopia is a masterful interplay of new mediums and methods, the duo artists, Sunil and Ryan, creating a world that brims with a cosmos of tiny microorganism patterns, abstract figures, and biomorphic formations in an intricate juxtaposition of interdisciplinary visual languages.

“We are all dots of the same circle, we are all connected.”, an extract from the artist’s journal, reflects the idea of the ‘Fractal Utopia’ disseminating the physical reality into micro dimensions and allowing the mind to flow into a meditative state of mind to spontaneously create artworks without a speck of conscious deliberate thoughts. Herein, the duo artist finds a resemblance with the fractals, the recurring patterns within their own selves and nature and they allow the heavenly feeling of connectedness to delve into this unique state of mind.

Within the domain of the physical reality, the conscious wanders with a mental clarity of expression combined with the element of conscious attention in lucid dreams gives a heightened visual perception that enables the artist to comprehend fantastical images that are highly self-reflective based on personal and psychic grounds.

The extensive composition of collaborative combination creates an impact on outermost exchange value beyond borders of multi-disciplines and helps align with different thoughts. I would personally like to thank all the collaborators, supporters, and friends who works with me and the artists and make this exhibition possible.

I find their works steeped in the beliefs of Eastern philosophy and spirituality. Meditation is often used as the means to observe and understand the nature of the thoughts; how one relentlessly precedes the other and continuously occupies the mind with an aimless stream of thoughts. Through automatism, the duo seeks to maintain equanimity and observes the parts of nature from a non-judgmental point of view.

Simultaneously, transcribing the same pattern of thinking in the artworks, they give us a taste of the realm of their own meditative state of mind as they create them. These diaries and journals are the testimonials of their automotive pattern of thinking and creating, a glimpse of their unbiased and incidental process of creation as their thoughts interplay between the connective fractals of nature and a consequent utopian state.

Saroj Mahato,
Bikalpa Art Center, Founder/ Curator

Artists’ brief biography and artistic statements:

Sushant Rajbhandari (Ryan)
Sushant Rajbhandari (Ryan) is an artist based in Kathmandu, who is currently pursuing his bachelor’s at Srijana College of Fine Arts. His interests lie not only in visual arts but across a range of other musical art practices. He is also a band member of ‘Stotram’, an independent experimental musical band.

Creating a surrealistic world by using xenophilic objects, meticulously drawn microcosmic details, connecting dots, and other-worldly shapes relate to how Ryan enters into the realm of his lucid dreams, almost dream storming and accessing materials and ideas for his artworks and delves into a state of automation, taking refuge in his meditative creative process. His work seems like an inchoate version of a Baroque style Beksinsky’s paintings.

But these works may not necessarily be a dystopian manifestation of his minds; rather something the exact opposite. Through his unique process of automatism, he seeks to find and express the parallels we have with the universe via the subconscious and the unseen. Embracing different realities that may concur at the same time, the artist focuses on minute rhythmic lines and patterns of the biological world which he meticulously transcribes onto his canvas. He sees the microscopic veins that spread within innumerable parts of nature, plants, rivers, and also within that of our own corporal beings as a reminder that we are all connected; making art, thus, becomes an escape for him from the mundane every day into a reality much deeper and into a reality that helps him understand our affinity with the nature.

Sunil Pandey
Sunil Pandey is an artist from Kathmandu, who is currently pursuing his Master’s degree in fine arts from Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu.

“ My drawings liberate me from the bondage of artistic conventions and provide a new medium, a different dimension to explore the subtle reality that lies deep below the superficial one”, says Sunil. Using dark shady charcoal and heavily textured acrylics, Sunil explores the terrains of the subconscious mind within his Landscapes “Solace of Mind”. Almost delving into a state of trance and tranquility, the artist finds himself hooked into a ceaseless momentum of work which he finds to be cathartic and meditative.

His landscapes, which he has created on the basis of a fantastical and figurative world, defy the regular conventions of landscape, at times lacking recognizable geological elements such as mountains, hills, or vistas. These works confound traditional expectations of the landscape genre and propose that the interior world of the psyche is as complex and ripe for exploration as the world beyond our bodies.

The landscape and figures can be perceived as interpretations and representations of the physical beings and structures; and the artist’s observation beyond the apparent physicality, where those types of beings and scapes might reside.

As a part of the project, we eagerly welcome diverse independent individuals/ groups to collaborate, work together, share knowledge and experience. And we are happy to have ‘AMURTARITI’, a solo sound performance by Anil Subba and ‘Trees’ a trio independent musical band.

AMURTARITI

Amurtariti is a perceptible exploration of metaphorical abstraction, an exploration of inward periphery synchronized with the outward fragments, through time and space, experimenting, improvising, creating new and unpredictable cycles of thoughts and perceptions, providing experimental possibilities to experience the obscured desires for the beauty of artistic seduction.’

The core intention of this act is to create sounds and visuals of a mind suffering from normal to unveil the new normal realities, in which the listener/ viewer is immersed in disorienting chaos of memories, thoughts, and experiences.

TREES

Trees is a modern folk trio band blending traditional Nepalese music in a contemporary setting. They aspire to create a soulful fusion of ethnic Nepalese sounds with elements of modern pop, jazz, punk, soul and rock.

update after the opening

WOW! It was a staggering experience having such a wonderful reception on the opening of ‘Solace of Mind, Fractal Utopia. What a New Year’s Eve and the opening of the New Year 2022! Thank you all of you for paying attention and choosing to come to BAC, it was captivating. We are encouraged! We hope you all had a great time with us and we are sure you had a unique experience altogether. The exhibition will continue until the 14th January 2022 and the gallery opening hours are from 10 am to 6 pm every day. Both of the artists will be available every day for certain hours.

We would like to thank both of the artists who worked really hard to pull off the exhibition, all their friends who have been directly involved in the process of making the work, all the collaborators, indirect other supporters, and of course the BAC cafe team who have been an imperative part of the exhibition from the beginning.

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