Anna Zhao

    anna.whizh@yahoo.com

    A TIBETAN thangka painting exhibition is now open at the Guan Shanyue Art Museum until Sunday.

    Themed “Transcending Human Spirit,” the exhibition is showcasing 65 paintings by three contemporary Tibetan artists, Gesangzaxi, Cidanlangjie and Cizengraodan, two of whom are in their early 30s.

    Thangka is a traditional form of Tibetan painting on cotton or silk that usually depicts a Buddhist deity, scene or mandala. The oldest thangkas are religious murals in monasteries. During its long historical development, the thangka eventually evolved into scroll painting; however, it is quite different from scroll paintings of the Han ethnic group. A thangka painting is mounted on silk brocade and framed with ruffled cloth on the upper brim, which is considered the entrance to the world of meditation.

    As an art that arose from spiritual strength, thangka embodies Tibetan religious beliefs and its mysterious religious rituals and embraces the religious wisdom that preaches mercy and benevolence.

    The use of pigments in thangkas is exquisite. By using natural mineral pigments, a thangka painting can last a very long time while retaining its luster. Minerals such as red coral, pearl, carnelian and turquoise, plants such as saffron and rhubarb, and even gold and silver are common sources of pigments. The pigments have to go through a complicated process before they can be used, including repeated grinding, baking and stewing.

    Pigments can take on a variety of colors if they are processed differently. For example, white and yellow pigments are often burnished after being crushed by a strong man, while green and blue pigments require a soft and slow grinding work.

    Thangka painting employs vast amounts of iconographic information that associates the material world with mental activities. For instance, the Guanyin Bodhisattva is associated with mercy; the fortune god represents generosity in donations; the holy bottle represents satisfaction in both spiritual and material needs; the lotus flower symbolizes the origin of purity and sacredness; the golden wheel embodies solidarity, wisdom and abstention from ignorance and stupidity.

    Gesang, who started learning thangka painting at 13, thinks the process of creating a thangka is itself a spiritual practice that requires the painter to meditate with internal tranquility and peace while abandoning secular desires and emotions such as anger or hatred.

    In his opinion, the tranquility and solitariness in traditional art can nurture the minds of people who may be easily irritated by the rumbustious, modern world.

    Time: 10 a.m.-5 p.m., through May 18

    Venue: 3/F, Guan Shanyue Art Museum, Hongli Road, Futian District

    Metro: Longhua or Longhua Line, Children’s Palace Station (少年宫站), Exit C