Ever wondered what transpires when an artist who has spent a lifetime gazing at the night sky finally lifts a brush to paint it? The answer unfolds quietly, luminously-he paints the cosmos itself.
This season, veteran septuagenarian artist Jimmy Thapa presents his latest body of work at 108 Art Gallery, Durbar Marg, where skies, constellations, and distant galaxies emerge from layers of pigment with astonishing vitality. There is a youthful zeal in these paintings, a fervour so infectious that even fellow artists may find themselves momentarily stilled, caught in the gravitational pull of his vision.
The gallery’s deliberately darkened display hall becomes an extension of the night-an intimate, almost celestial chamber where the works breathe and glow, their depths amplified by shadow and silence. Here, colour drifts like stardust, and brushstrokes echo the slow, eternal movement of the universe.
The exhibition runs from 6 February to 1 March, inviting viewers to step into Thapa’s painted firmament and linger, if only for a moment, beneath skies imagined, remembered, and re-envisioned. Paintings, it seems, are born in two distinct ways. Some emerge from disciplined study- shaped within classrooms and studios, where technique is taught and rules are learned. Others arrive more quietly, gathered from nature itself, where the artist listens, observes, and waits.
In this body of work, the twelve zodiac signs were not painted in haste but summoned patiently, each one created only when its moment felt cosmically aligned. The artist lingered between intention and intuition, allowing time, stars, and silence to dictate when a brush should touch the surface. “I had to wait for the right moment to draw each painting,” he reflects. “What fascinates me is how the positions of the stars correspond with events- both auspicious and inauspicious. Even the Gen-Z movement unfolded during this very period, as I was charting these celestial alignments.”
Here, painting becomes more than an act of creation; it transforms into a dialogue with the universe itself- where art, astrology, and the rhythm of time converge, and each canvas holds not just an image, but a moment in the unfolding of the cosmos.
Against the subdued darkness of the gallery space, the paintings reveal themselves slowly, almost ceremonially. Black canvases- formed by stretching layers of black cloth- become sites of quiet intensity, where inventive strokes surface like constellations breaking through the night. This choice of material does more than frame the work; it heightens its presence, adding an unexpected depth that feels like the final, perfect accent to an already resonant composition.
Each canvas carries the imprint of years of disciplined practice. The artist moves with a precision born of long familiarity- knowing exactly when to suspend his breath, and when to let a mantra escape audibly into the room. These gestures, half meditative and half instinctive, seep into the paintings themselves. As a result, no two works occupy the same emotional or spiritual terrain; each awakens the viewer in its own distinct way.
The response from visitors has been one of genuine wonder. Many linger longer than expected, drawn into the quiet force of the artworks. Among them, art enthusiast Mukul Bhusal reflected on his experience, remarking, “I never knew artworks could hold such living power. These paintings have transformed me, as if I were lifted into another realm- almost as though I had been teleported into the sky.”
Drawing upon fabric demands an unforgiving exactness. Here, precision is not optional- it is the very soul of the work. Each artwork on display has been executed in a single, uninterrupted flow, where hesitation has no place and error offers no second chance. A misplaced stroke cannot be undone; the painting must arrive whole, complete in its first breath.
With a quiet smile, the artist explains this philosophy as creative precision. “Once the painting is finished, I never return to it,” he says. “The brush touches the surface only once- it is a pure touch-and-go.” In this restraint lies a rare confidence, where mastery reveals itself through simplicity rather than excess.
The zodiac signs, accompanied by their respective deities, emerge as luminous anchors within the series. They form the spiritual and symbolic core of the exhibition, bridging celestial order with human belief. This is not the artist’s first dialogue with sacred journeys and cosmic themes. In an earlier exhibition at Siddhartha Art Gallery, he presented works created during his pilgrimage along the banks of the Ganges in India—paintings shaped by devotion, travel, and contemplation.
For art lovers across the valley, this exhibition is nothing short of essential viewing. Rich with insight and intention, it offers more than visual pleasure; it invites reflection, elevates awareness, and gently expands the consciousness of both artists and viewers alike.
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