Balance & Harmony

Lobsang Tseten

---

(b. 1978)

---

BALANCE & HARMONY; 2011

---

acrylic

---

48 x 48 in. (121.9 x 121.9 cm)

---

ARTIST STATEMENT

---

Most of my paintings are a fusion between traditional and contemporary art. My painting incorporates mythical emblems and symbols encompassing contemporary objects while leaving the subject as universal as possible.

---

The colors play a special role in this piece holding specific meanings. Blue is associated with purity and healing, white is the color of wisdom and represent cutting the delusion of ignorance. Green represents nature and symbolizes balance and harmony. Fire is the natural element complementary to the color red, orange and yellow. These colors represent life force and preservation.

---

I generally use traditional method of Tibetan painting known as Thangka which requires painting using Tibetan scrolls and scriptures to get accurate details of Tibetan symbols which are documented in Tibetan scriptures.

---

Traditionally Tibetan paintings are commissioned two or three times by an average Tibetan in his or her life. First of all an artist might be asked to construct a thangka when there's a birth in a family. The artist will construct a thankga painting according to the cosmic charts and that painting will represent a visual art where the new born's horoscope is documented in the form of art. Secondly, when there is an illness, a thankga is constructed, typically a medicine Buddha to cure all ailments. Finally after someone passes away a thankga is constructed so that the one who passed away can find a clearer path in the afterlife guided by the guardian angel depicted in the painting. By incorporating most of the traditional aspects of traditional Tibetan art with contemporary art in the form of canvas, my goal is to create a fusion between traditional eastern art with modern western art. My work attempts to bring viewers to an implicit agreement to the sight and ideas of fusionism.

---

I often use pure Tibetan stone colours to paint Tibetan thangka paintings; grinding the stone colors takes a lot of skill to get the required colors. The wonderful characteristic of Tibetan stone ground colors is that unlike watercolors, stone colors leave a lasting impact on paintings, they remain vibrant even after passage of time. The Tibetan stone colors will neither deteriorate nor change colors with the passage of time. Since I am a fourth generation Tibetan thangka artist, I find myself responsible for trying to keep this vanishing form of art alive.