Artdhi Bhutan (Bhutanese TraditionalContemporary Art)
Pema Gyeltshen graduated from the National Institute of Zorig Chusum in Kawangjangsa and is from Tsirang. He received six years of training in traditional painting. He is one of the co-founders of Artdhi Bhutan, the art Gallery which started in the year 2018.
“The Artdhi Bhutan represents a fusion of traditional and contemporary Bhutanese art, utilizing solely natural pigments in its creation,” said Pema, one of the founders. “When we were starting our art gallery, the startup center supported us in color manufacturing and research for two years and provided us space to paint and display our art. The Department of Cottage and Small Industry currently supports them so they can exhibit their paintings and live art,” he added gratefully.
He said that the team of four is gearing up for the exhibition, which is going to be held in Taiwan with the theme of traditional art. They mainly paint art on the canvas focusing on Bhutanese traditional contemporary art. “If you want to buy traditional contemporary art you can visit their outlet at
Changzamtok, where they display art as well as show live paintings.”
At the moment, Artdhi Bhutan is a team of four, however, this can fluctuate when they have to finish large orders or scheduled exhibitions. They also hired people based on wage because the majority of them were not willing to work there for a longer time, and he believed that if they had more workers, they would be able to meet the demand for orders. aware of Bhutanese traditional art and we will continue to do
“The biggest challenge we have is that, despite the department’s support, our workspace is too small for us to operate in and maintain our art exhibit. Because it has to do with art, we have to use glue and minerals, which makes working in a confined area a little unpleasant. Therefore, having a slightly larger room will be handier for us. And another challenge is getting long term employees,” Pema continued.
The Artdhi Bhutan serves as a platform for artists to showcase their creativity, express their unique perspectives, and contribute to meaningful discourse on every exhibition. Pema and team provide avenues for artists to connect with audiences globally, fostering cross-cultural understanding and appreciation. “Our main customer are foreigner since our art is made with 100% natural colours and gold we used is real gold so the price of painting becomes little higher and we focused on quality than quantity,” he claimed.
Pema and his team have attained various exhibition within the country and outside the country. Some of the highlight of exhibitions they have attained in 2023 are Endless fortune, the deities of wealth and glamour of Mongolian and Tibetan living art exhibition, Taiwan, Dharma art calligraphy exhibition, Indian embassy and has attained more than fifty exhibitions within and outside countries. Further they have
received awards for creativity, innovation and best art design in contemporary art, almost every year on annual event held by National Design and Art competition held by RTA Bhutan.
“My advice to youths is if you are planning to open an art gallery like ours, we will always recommend you to start and we have been helping some of them until now. Even we have been supporting foreigners with our Bhutanese arts and sometimes we take art classes for foreigners too. So that our art reaches the outside world. Even when we go outside countries to do exhibitions, we make sure to make people so in the future too. As art is essential,” He ended.
Pema said in the future, art will become increasingly important as people continues to undergo rapid technological advancements and social transformations. In an era of globalization, art will serve as a powerful tool for expressing diverse cultural identities and experiences. So, Pema and team are planning to do something big for future.
In an ever-evolving landscape of artistic expression, Pema and his team stands as a beacon of creativity and innovation, illuminating the path for future generations of artists to follow, through their visionary works. Their contributions to the art world are not merely confined to galleries and museums but extend far beyond, touching the hearts and minds of audiences around the globe.
By Rinzin Dema
