Gonkar Gyatso
Gonkar Gyatso | b. 1961, Tibet/England | Angel 2007 | Stickers and pencil on treated paper. | 152 x 121.5cm | The Kenneth and Yasuko Myer Collection of Contemporary Asian Art. Purchased 2008 with funds from Michael Sidney Myer through the Queensland Art Gallery Foundation | Collection: Queensland Art Gallery
b.1961, Lhasa, Tibet
Lives and works in London, United Kingdom
Gonkar Gyatso’s youth coincided with the period of the Cultural Revolution when much art and culture was destroyed, and traditional Tibetan art forms ― most of which were tied to religion ― were forbidden. While studying Chinese calligraphy in Beijing, Gyatso became aware of the distinctiveness of his heritage and after graduating, moved to Dharamsala, India, where he studied traditional Tibetan thangka (scroll painting), before moving to London. Gyatso founded the Sweet Tea House in 1985, which became the first Tibetan avant-garde artists’ association. Since his move to London, his works have aimed to map the shifts in identity and belonging caused by continual migration. His current practice combines traditional calligraphy and the iconography of Buddhist thangka with collages of colourful stickers, cut-out text and mass-media imagery, subverting typecast notions of Tibetan culture and considering the popularisation of Buddhism in the West. APT6 will feature collages as well as a new nine-metre work on paper, commissioned for the exhibition.
Exhibitions (solo): ‘Tibetan Word: Art of Communication’, The Sweet Tea House, London, United Kingdom, 2004. Exhibitions (group): 53rd Biennale of Venice, Italy, 2009; ‘Thermocline of Art: New Asian Waves’, ZKM, Karlsruhe, Germany, 2007. www.gonkargyatso.com
Video
View Gonkar Gyatso’s artist talk from the APT6 Opening weekend (part 1 of 2) (part 2 of 2)
