Kunsang Gyatso (he/him)

Kunsang Gyatso’s art highlights his concerns regarding his identity as tied to his birthplace of Hyolmo, Nepal. His experiences in the diaspora following his immigration to the United States in his early twenties feature prominently in his work.

The artist seeks to negotiate his place in the world by uncovering lived and imagined realities, at times dwelling in the personal through lived experiences, memories, and dreams, and at others, engaging with traditional imagery, systems of knowledge, and practices. He is currently based in Queens, NY.

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In the Tibetan Buddhist world, the Wheel of Life and the ritual of sand mandalas illustrate notions of time, the cyclical nature of existence, impermanence, and the cycle of creation and dissolution, all central themes in Goddess of Tangerine. Inspired by the Rubin’s Tibetan Buddhist Shrine Room installation, here the artist suggests an alternate universe where tangerines are worshiped because of their extinction. Kunsang Gyatso uses the dried tangerines to metaphorically visualize time and impermanence. The artist also comments on the present-day global climate crisis by presenting this absurd instance of an extinction of a common fruit, incorporating veneration and the idea of care of nature. Furthermore, as the shrine is taken out of its native universe, it reflects concepts of displacement and the experience of home versus the diaspora.

This installation from the Rubin Museum’s collection is presented in the Reimagine exhibition in dialogue with Goddess of Tangerine, inviting new ways of encountering traditional Himalayan art.