The Takpa Gallery in Lazimpat has come alive once again, this time with a vibrant exhibition by budding artist Shailee Bajracharya, who embraces semi-abstract imagery to give shape to her inner emotions.
Although she began her artistic journey with classes at Shreejana College of Fine Arts, circumstances led her to leave before completing her studies. Shailee now proudly identifies as a self-taught artist, allowing her intuition and personal narratives to guide her creative path.
Her exhibition opened on 22nd November and will continue to welcome visitors until 6th December, offering a glimpse into the evolving world of an emerging creative voice.
In her artworks, Shailee weaves chaos and color into a vivid tapestry, letting their tension and harmony speak for her.
One of her notable pieces, The Portrait of Making, grows out of a deeply personal memory. She recalls her days in Grade 8, a time when she often felt a mysterious presence trailing behind her. She never knew who—or what—it was, and the uncertainty stirred a storm inside her. The more she dwelled on it, the more tangled her emotions became, until she finally sought refuge in the sanctuary of creation.
Her paintings breathe this struggle: the harshness of reality and the desire to escape it, the constant friction between her inner world and the outer world.
Some of Shailee’s works are paired with poems she has written, allowing her verses and paintings to transform one another, each deepening the meaning of the other.During her travels in Sikkim, she was captivated by the delicate beauty of water lilies—an experience that found its way gently, yet powerfully, onto her canvas.
Before her brush ever touches the canvas, Shailee enters a quiet ritual of gathering thoughts and emotions, allowing ideas to bloom in the stillness of her mind. She often begins by composing poems—intimate verses that become the first breath of her artwork. As she transitions from words to paint, she slips into a meditative state, letting her surroundings whisper their secrets to her.
“Everything feels dark at times; so many things overwhelm me,” she confides, “and it is this very weight that I try to translate into my paintings.” Her art becomes a delicate unraveling of chaos—a tender attempt to make sense of the shadows that follow her. Her fascination with ceramics opened yet another doorway into her inner world. In her ceramic pieces, birds and women echo one another—both fragile, both resilient, both searching for space to exist freely. Thus, the ceramic cups she shapes are gently adorned with bird imagery, as though each vessel is cradling a small, living memory.
One such memory comes from home: a bird that would perch near her window and sing. As she listened, she found herself drifting into reflection. While she was yearning to escape her own reality, the bird—unburdened and fearless—sang as though it had already mastered the art of living fully.
In these moments, Shailee’s art takes flight—poetry, paint, and clay woven together with the fragile music of a bird’s song.
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