Monsal Pekar (she/her)

Monsal Pekar was born in Altro, Tibet Autonomous Region, China, to a family tradition of Tibetan sculpture and painting.

She graduated in 1990 from Northwest Minorities University in Lanzhou, Gansu, with a concentration in oil painting, and additional studies in sculpture, design, dance, music, poetry, and philosophy. She left for Dharamsala, India, in 1993 where she continued to create art and worked to promote art within the local Tibetan community. Monsal Pekar returned to Tibet in 2006 with her new family and continues to create art through painting and sculpture.

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Monsal Pekar has created many self-portraits and portraits of women in her lifetime, but it was only in the recent years that she started working on digital renditions that speak to today’s culture. The self-portraits on view here were influenced by her experience being a mother.

Green Tara is known for being a motherly figure and protector to Tibetans. The mantra or prayer recited for Tara is om tare tuttare ture soha, which means “I prostrate to the Liberator, Mother of all the Victorious Ones.” On view nearby in the exhibition are a traditional thangka painting of Green Tara and a sculpture of Green Tara seated in the royal ease posture with the right leg hanging down over the edge of the lotus. This pose is mirrored in Monsal Pekar’s digital Green Tara, but here she is surrounded by empty space.

This object from the Rubin Museum’s collection is presented in the Reimagine exhibition in dialogue with Self-portrait — Life/My Daughter, My Son and I and   Self-portrait — Green Tara, inviting new ways of encountering traditional Himalayan art.

This object from the Rubin Museum’s collection is presented in the Reimagine exhibition in dialogue with Self-portrait — Life/My Daughter, My Son and I and   Self-portrait — Green Tara, inviting new ways of encountering traditional Himalayan art.