Tibetan art collection graces gallery walls

The new exhibit at the Art Gallery of St. Albert was indeed many years and many miles in the making.

Tibetan Lama Choegyal Rinpoche was still a pre-teen living in a monastery when he was one of many people who fled the province of Dru-gu in eastern Tibet for India during the violence of the Chinese Cultural Revolution. That was 1959.

Along the way, he created artistic drawings and paintings out of his experiences, documenting the many highs and the many lows, making this collection of artwork a kind of scrapbook album of his storied life.

“He painted the paintings in the hopes to create a diary of his life as he was ordained as a Rinpoche and spiritual leader when he was requested by the Dalai Lama to take sanctuary in India and leave Tibet,” explained Leah Carnahan, the curator of the collection. “It talks about how he settled in India and re-established his spiritual community. It really does tell a remarkable tale.”

It makes sense then that the exhibit is called 60 Tibetan Pearls: The Painted Memories of Choegyal Rinpoche. Carnahan was gifted the collection almost a decade ago by art collector Viviane Hunter who had a longstanding correspondence with the artist. Carnahan later met with Choegyal to obtain his permission to create this exhibit of his very personal images and their broader story to share with the world.

This is the kind of exhibit that might easily be considered a rarity, especially around these parts. Carnahan said that it was on display at the Grand Forks Art Gallery in British Columbia when she was approached by Edmonton artist Amy Loewan who was immediately taken by the power of the artworks and what they represented.

“She felt that it would be wonderful to have that exhibit in St. Albert. Her cultural heritage is Chinese and she's an advocate for peace,” the curator continued, adding that the collection makes a powerful statement for peace and harmony between nationalities.

As expected, we are unaccustomed to such travelling exhibits and it remains unlike anything that has heretofore seen display space. The Rinpoche works in a vast diversity of media including painting, calligraphy, drawing, carpet design, architecture, sculpture and masks, incorporating a blend of contemporary and traditional techniques and subjects.

His artistic practice also explores a wide variety of themes such as the mind, experiences, the lineage of all Tibetan Buddhist schools, landscape, illustrated poetry and songs and calligraphy. While some images come across as naÄŹve, others look as though they could have been created hundreds of years ago.

Carnahan particularly appreciates Horse Race, a uniquely joyful and vibrant watercolour on paper, work painted from the artist's imagined perspective of a participant.

“His position is the leader of a spiritual community so he himself would never have been able to go in the horse races like the other young children. He painted that imagining what it would feel or be like. It's very free and contemporary and modern. It's a beautiful piece.”

She hopes that the collection will be considered more of an “educational exhibit” and help Albertans to better understand what life was and is like for the many Tibetan refugees who settled in this province back in the 1970s and 1980s. She works with a non-profit organization called TibetanPaintings.com, which has been supporting contemporary and traditional Tibetan artists for more than 15 years.

“60 Tibetan Pearls is to promote awareness about Tibet and Tibetan refugees and the tribulations and the trials that they've endured over almost the last 60 years.”