The Exhibition

Gateway to Himalayan Art

Gateway to Himalayan Art introduces the main forms, concepts, meanings, and religious traditions of Himalayan art with objects from the collection of the Rubin Museum of Art, New York. A large multimedia map at the start of the exhibition orients viewers to the greater Himalayan region, which encompasses Indian, Nepalese, Bhutanese, and Tibetan cultures as well as interrelated Mongolian and Chinese traditions. Gateway invites exploration of these diverse cultural spheres through exemplary objects presented in three thematic sections: Symbols and Meanings, Materials and Technologies, and Living Practices. It also includes voices from the Himalayan community, along with connections to related digital content to learn more.

The exhibition features sculptures, Tibetan scroll paintings (thangkas), ritual implements, medical instruments, and instructional paintings, as well as a stupa and prayer wheel. In Buddhism, the commissioning, creation, and use of such objects are tied to the accumulation of merit, religious advancement, and hopes for wealth, long life, and well-being. Special installations include displays detailing the process of Nepalese lost-wax metal casting and the stages of creating a thangka painting. A Tibetan shrine cabinet presents how these objects would be displayed in a traditional household shrine.

This traveling exhibition is organized and provided by the Rubin Museum of Art and curated by Senior Curator of Himalayan Art Elena Pakhoutova. Gateway to Himalayan Art is an integral component of the Rubin Museum’s Project Himalayan Art, a three-part initiative that also includes the publication Himalayan Art in 108 Objects and this digital platform. Together they provide introductory resources for learning about and teaching Himalayan art.

The exhibition will travel to colleges and universities through 2026.

Project Himalayan Art has been made possible in part by a major grant from The National Endowment for the Humanities: Democracy demands wisdom.

Symbols and Meanings

Learn about the art and objects from Himalayan cultural regions and the visual language (iconography) used to convey the meanings of figures and symbols representing religious ideas and concepts.

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Symbols and Meanings
Buddha

The Buddha, meaning awakened person, referred first to Shakyamuni, whose teachings became the foundation of Buddhism.

Buddha
Bodhisattvas

Bodhisattvas aspire to become awakened like the Buddha and are dedicated to helping others achieve enlightenment.

Bodhisattvas
Tantric Deities

Tantric deities are the focus of esoteric religious practices (tantras) that aim to swiftly and radically transform a practitioner’s conventional understanding of reality.

Tantric Deities
Female Deities

Female tantric deities symbolize the wisdom aspect of the enlightened mind and and they can be peaceful or wrathful in appearance.

Female Deities
Wrathful Deities

There are two kinds of deities that appear as wrathful, with flaming hair, bulging eyes, open mouths showing fangs, and garlands of severed heads.

Wrathful Deities
Relationship of Buddhist and Hindu Deities

Buddhist and Hindu traditions spread side by side in the same communities in India and Nepal, and some of the deities in the two religions are associated with similar myths.

Relationship of Buddhist and Hindu Deities
Hindu Gods and Goddesses

Various religious practices now collectively called Hinduism worship a diverse group of gods (deva) and goddesses (devi).

Hindu Gods and Goddesses
Humans

Legendary and historical humans, including teachers and accomplished masters, are a popular subject of Himalayan art.

Humans

Materials and Technologies

Learn about the processes and methods for creating Himalayan art that were developed over centuries, refined through collaborative efforts of patrons and artists, and encompass all known traditional art making media. To make three-dimensional objects, artists sculpt and carve in clay, stone, and wood, cast images in the round, and hammer repoussé reliefs in metal. 

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Materials and Technologies
Creating in Clay

Unfired clay remains the most commonly used material for sculpture in the Himalayas, from large statues to small tsatsas.

Creating in Clay
Carving in Stone and Wood

Stone and wood are used by artisans to create three-dimensional images in Himalayan cultural regions.

Carving in Stone and Wood
Woodblock Printing

The invention of printing can be directly connected to Buddhism and the need to reproduce religious texts and simple pictures of the Buddha.

Woodblock Printing
Using Paper

Paper was used widely as a media for copying Buddhist texts and image making.

Using Paper
Painting on Cloth

Painting is the primary two-dimensional form for image making, but different media, such as woodblock prints and woven textiles, are also used to create similar compositions.

Painting on Cloth
Casting and Shaping Metal

Metal has become the predominate medium for producing religious sculpture in the Himalayas, primarily by way of hollow or lost wax casting and embossing.

Casting and Shaping Metal

Living Practices

In Himalayan cultures most objects are created with a specific purpose, often in the context of religious practices or special occasions marking life events, but also as part of everyday secular activities. These images and objects function as part of living practices, whether individual, familial, professional, or communal.

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Living Practices
Ritual

Ritual informs the structure of religious life in the Himalayas, defining the daily routine of practitioners and shaping a range of community-based activities.

Ritual
Merit

In Himalayan cultures religious merit is the overarching reason for creating, commissioning, dedicating, and using religious works of art.

Merit
Secular Aims

Religious rituals and the commissioning of art can serve everyday secular needs, the most common being wealth, health, and long life.

Secular Aims
Religious Goals

Tantric practitioners strive to transform themselves by using meditative and ritual tools with the ultimate goal of enlightenment or awakening.

Religious Goals
Storytelling

Many Himalayan paintings serve as illustrations and instructional tools that bring forth stories about the Buddha, Tibetan masters, and more.

Storytelling
Instruction

Instructive paintings can illustrate religious doctrines, medical and astrological charts, or images of ritual implements and meditative postures.

Instruction
Art in Context

Experience a sacred space similar to what could be found in a Tibetan household where religious objects are displayed and used in ritual and devotional practices.

Art in Context