Dedron
Born in Lhasa, Dedron graduated from Tibet University in 1999. She is
a member of the China Minority Art Association and the Gedun Choephel
Artist Guild. She has exhibited in the only all-woman exhibition in Lhasa,
as well as in London, New York, and Santa Fe. Dedron currently lives and
works in Lhasa.
Namgyal Dorjee
Namgyal Dorjee was born in Dehra Dun, India. He studied oil painting at
the Tibetan Homes Foundation in Mussoorie, India. After completing his
training there, he joined Tibetan Children’s Village School in 1992
and served as an art teacher and illustrator for 11 years. In 1997, he
joined the Education Development and Resource Center of TCV School, Dharamsala
where he worked as an illustrator for school textbooks and storybooks
until 2003. The Alexandra David Neel Foundation at Digne in South France
twice invited Namgyal Dorjee, in 2001 and 2002, to create paintings of
different Tibetan traditional costumes, monasteries, stupas and deities,
landscapes and animals of Tibet. His works are on display at the Foundation’s
Museum. In Decmber 2005, he participated in a group exhibition of contemporary
Tibetan art at the Tibet Museum, Dharamsala, the first of its kind. Namgyal
Dorjee just recently relocated to Queens, New York, from Dharamsala, India.
Gade
Born in Lhasa, Gade graduated from the Art Department at Tibet University
in 1991, and studied at the Central Arts Academy in Beijing from 1992-1993.
From 2001 to 2003 he held “Artist-in-Residence” positions
in New York City and the Taigh Chearsabaugh Museum and Art Center in Lochmaddy,
Scotland. In 2003 he helped found the Gedun Choephel Artist’s Guild,
with artists and gallery based in Lhasa. He has exhibited in France, Japan,
Malaysia, Macau, London, New York City and Santa Fe. Gade currently lives
and works in Lhasa.
Gonkar Gyatso
Gonkar Gyatso was born in Lhasa, Tibet, and studied fine art at the Central
Arts Academy in Beijing, China, and at Central St. Martins and the Chelsea
School of Design in London, UK. Gonkar is the founder of Sweet Tea House
(London), the first gallery in Europe devoted to showcasing contemporary
Tibetan Art. He has exhibited in London, Oxford, Zurich, Helsinki, New
Delhi, New York, Washington, D.C. and Atlanta. He has been a recipient
of the Leverhulme Fellowship in 2003 as an Artist-in-Residence at Pitt
Rivers Museum, Oxford, as well as a fellow at the Library of Tibetan Works
& Archive, Dharamsala, India for traditional Tibetan painting studies.
Gonkar currently lives and works in London.
Losang Gyatso
Losang Gyatso was born in Tibet and has lived in the United States since
1974. His work engages with the intersection of the spiritual and physical,
drawing inspiration from pre-Buddhist and Buddhist worldviews and symbols
such as those in the Shang Shung rock art of Tibet. His background and
interest in design and photography lend both a focus and narrative to
his subject matter. Gyatso’s work is largely stripped of ritual
and traditional conventions, thus allowing all visual forms of inquiry
into his subject matter.
Jhamsang
Born and raised in Lhasa, Jhamsang apprenticed with the thangka master
Tenpa Rapten in 1987. He currently teaches art and is a member of the
Gedun Choephel Artist Guild. Jhamsang lives and works in Lhasa.
Kaltse
Born in Lhasa, Kaltse studied stage design at the Shanghai Academy of
Drama in 1987 and began working for the Tibetan Song and Dance Troupe
in Lhasa in 1991. He has exhibited in Beijing and Sydney. Kaltse is currently
the editor of the Tibet Publication Institute, as well as a member of
the Gedun Choephel Artist Guild in Lhasa.
Kesang Lamdark
Born in Dharamsala, India, Kesang Lamdark grew up in Switzerland. He received
a B.F.A. from Parsons School of Design in 1995, and an MFA from Columbia
University in 1997. Kesang has exhibited in London, Montreal, New York
City, San Francisco and Zurich. He currently lives and works as a free-lance
artist at Atelier Rote Fabrick in Zurich, Switzerland.
Nortse
Born and raised in Lhasa, Nortse found his first outlet for artistic expression
working as a stage designer for television programs as a teenager. From
1980 to 1991, he studied art at various schools, including Tibet University
in Lhasa, the Central Arts Academy in Beijing, and the Art Academies in
Guangzhou and Tainjing. He has exhibited in Beijing, Lhasa, London and
Santa Fe. Nortse currently lives and works in Lhasa.
Tsering Nyandak
Born in Lhasa, Tsering Nyandak lived and studied at the Tibetan Children’s
Village school in Dharamsala, India from 1985-1993. When he returned to
Lhasa, he began working as a tour guide and translator while painting.
In 1999 he began apprenticing with Tsewang Tashi, a renowned professor
of contemporary art at Tibet University. In 2000 Tsering Nyandak became
a full-time, independent artist, and in 2003 helped found the Gedun Choephel
Artist Guild in Lhasa. He has exhibited in China, Germany, Nepal, London,
New York, and Santa Fe. Tsering Nyandak currently lives and works in Lhasa.
Karma Phuntsok
Born in Lhasa, Karma Phuntsok was raised in India, studying drawing and
painting through his school years there. In 1973, he studied thangka painting
with a master of traditional Tibetan thangka painting in Nepal. Since
then he has been making paintings based on Tibetan Buddhist deities. In
1981, Karma migrated to Australia, and now lives and works north of Kyogle
in New South Wales.
Tenzing Rigdol
Born in Kathmandu, Nepal, Tenzing Rigdol apprenticed at the School of
Tibetan Thangkha Painting under the guidance of Master Phenpo Tentar and
Tenzing Gawa. He also studied traditional Tibetan carpet design at the
Tibetan Children’s Village Handicraft institute, and classical Tibetan
painting in Dharamsala, India. In 2001 Tenzing Rigdol trained at Shakhaar
Choten monastery in Nepal, studying Tibetan Buddhist scriptures, sand
painting and butter sculpture. In 2004, he graduated from the University
of Colorado at Denver with a degree focusing on painting, drawing, art
history and philosophy. Tenzing Rigdol currently lives and works in Denver.
Samchung
Born and raised in Kham, the eastern province of traditional Tibet, Samchung
moved to Beijing as a young man to complete his Bachelor of Arts in Tibetan
Literature and Culture at the Central Minorities University. He trained
as an artist at the School of Fine Arts at the South West University of
China in Chengdu, becoming a member of the Fine Arts Association of Sichuan
in 1999. He has exhibited in Beijing, Chengdu, and most recently in Dharamsala
in 2004. Samchung currently lives and works in Dharamsala.
Shelka
Born in Dongkar, near Lhasa in Tuiling County, Shelka trained in the Art
Department at Tibet University from 1981-1985, and in 1986 his work “Grinding
Tsampa” was featured at the National Museum in Beijing. In 1991
he studied at the Central Art Academy in Beijing, focusing on studio art
with a contemporary edge. Upon returning to Lhasa, he started working
at the Tibet Exhibition Institute, taking a hiatus from his personal artwork.
In 2000 he was a featured artist in the 25th anniversary of Tibet University,
and in 2005 he returned to painting. He is a member of the Tibet Art Association,
the Tibet Folk Art Institution, and the Gedun Choephel Artist Guild. Shelka
currently lives and works in Lhasa.
Sodhon
Born in Tibet, Sodhon grew up studying informally with art instructors
and also apprenticing under master thangka painters. In 1981, he worked
as a volunteer artist in the mural restoration project at Drepung Ganden
Phodrang, the monastery and traditional seat of the Dalai Lamas. In 1988,
he crossed into India and became a resident artist in the Department of
Education of the Tibetan government in exile, where he illustrated books
and created educational materials for children. In 1999, he became an
instructor at the College for Higher Tibetan Studies at Sarnath where
he taught creative skills to teacher trainees. Sodhon has collaborated
on projects with many Tibetan cultural groups including the Library of
Tibetan Works and Archives, Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts, Tsampa
Literary Group and the Amnye Machen Institute. Sodhon has exhibited in
Dharamsala, New Delhi, and New York City. He currently lives and works
in Dharamsala.
Tsewang Tashi
Born in Lhasa, Tsewang Tashi graduated from the Fine Arts Department of
the Central University for National Minorities in Beijing in 1984 and
taught there until 1987. He returned to Lhasa in 1989 and began teaching
at Tibet University. In 2001 he was awarded a Master’s degree from
the National College of Art and Design in Oslo, Norway, whereupon he returned
to Lhasa to resume his professorship at Tibet University, and to become
a member of the Gedun Choephel Artist Guild in 2003. He has exhibited
in various locations in China, Norway, Japan, Bangladesh, the United Kingdom
and the United States, and hascurated exhibitions of Norweigan contemporary
art at Tibet University and the only all-woman exhibition in Lhasa. Tsewang
Tashi currently lives and works in Lhasa.