Gateway to Himalayan Art

Thursday, May 28
1:00–3:00 p.m. PT
Speaker: Elena Pakhoutova, PhD, Senior Curator, Himalayan Art, the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art
Virtual Event

Himalayan art spans the artistic traditions of the diverse regions and cultural spheres of the greater Himalayan mountain range, the Tibetan Plateau, and connected areas of Northern India, the western Himalayas, Nepal, Bhutan, Mongolia, Buddhist central Asia, and culturally related areas of China. This expansive geographic definition of Himalayan art emphasizes cultural connectivity and exchange between these regions. The presentation will introduce fundamental forms, symbolic meanings, methods of artistic production, and the living practices of Tibetan and Himalayan Art. The speaker will also talk about the newly developed digital resources and the traveling exhibition by the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art intended to introduce Tibetan and Himalayan art to higher education faculty and students as well as the general public.

Speaker Bio: Elena Pakhoutova is Senior Curator, Himalayan art, at the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art. Pakhoutova holds a PhD in Asian art history and criticism from the University of Virginia and has taught at the University of Virginia and the New School, New York. Her background in Tibetan Buddhist studies informs her interdisciplinary interests, including Buddhist art and ritual, art production and patronage, material culture, narrative in Tibetan visual culture, and contemporary Himalayan art. At the Rubin Museum, her thematic exhibitions have introduced and contextualized Tibetan and Himalayan art and include Death Is Not the End (2023), Awaken: A Tibetan Buddhist Journey Toward Enlightenment (2021), The Power of Intention: Reinventing the (Prayer) Wheel (2019), The Second Buddha: Master of Time (2018), Count Your Blessings: The Art of Prayer Beads in Asia (2013), Once Upon Many Times: Legends and Myths in Himalayan Art (2011), Gateway to Himalayan Art (2010–2024), and Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room (2012–2024). She co-curated Nepalese Seasons: Rain and Ritual (2016), The All-Knowing Buddha: A Secret Guide (2014), and Illuminated: The Art of Sacred Books (2012). She co-leads, with Karl Debreczeny, Project Himalayan Art.

Please note, this session will be conducted virtually via Zoom.

Save your spot. All participants will be sent the Zoom link via confirmation email with instructions once you secure your place.

Sponsored by the Asian Arts Council.

Featured at top right: Chakrasamvara with Consort Vajravarahi (detail), Kham Region, Eastern Tibet, 19th century. Pigments on cloth. Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art. Gift of Shelley & Donald Rubin Foundation, F1997.7.2 (HAR 99).