Tsherin Sherpa's Thangka Reinvention at Honolulu Museum of Art

Born in 1968 in Kathmandu to a Tibetan father and a Nepalese mother, Tsherin Sherpa began his training in traditional Himalayan thangka painting at the age of 12 under the guidance of his father, Urgen Dorje, a highly regarded Buddhist painter in Nepal. At 28, he moved to California, where he obtained a green card by teaching thangka at a Sebastopol Buddhist center. Influenced by American museums and contemporary artists, Sherpa infused pop culture and migration themes into traditional Himalayan Buddhist art. The Honolulu Museum of Art showcases "Divine Disruption: The Art of Tsherin Sherpa" until January 31, 2027, featuring over 20 pieces, including the notable Himalayan Spirits (2021). In 2022, he became the first Nepalese artist at the Venice Biennale. The exhibition will later move to the Seattle Art Museum from March 3 to October 3, 2027. Following the devastating 2015 Nepal earthquake, which resulted in approximately 9,000 deaths, Sherpa initiated humanitarian efforts, establishing a gallery and the Himalayan Art Initiative in Kathmandu to support local artists and employ 16 young thangka painters.