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.
Elena Pakhoutova
