नेपाली
Kathmandu, October 1: A catalogue documenting the work of late Australian artist Robert Powell, who lived and worked in Nepal for three decades, has been launched ahead of a major retrospective exhibition planned for 2027.
Titled Verisimilitude & Imagination: A Lifetime of Paintings & Drawings, the catalogue was launched at The Kalā Salon at Chhaya Center on September 29. Edited by Sophia L Pandé, the publication was produced with support from the Australian Embassy in Nepal and The Kalā Salon Foundation.
Proceeds from the catalogue will go towards funding the planned retrospective, which will bring together more than 50 of Powell’s original works from Belgium, along with his personal journals. Around 20 additional works from collections in Nepal will also be displayed.
Powell, who died in 2020, spent around 30 years in Nepal. Pandé said the retrospective had been Powell’s final wish and would honour his longstanding connection with the country.
“It was Rob’s final wish to have that retrospective here in Nepal, in a country that he loved and lived in for 30 years,” Pandé said.
Powell’s last major exhibition, Himalayan Drawings, was held in Zurich more than two decades ago. While the Taragaon Museum exhibited some of his remaining works in Nepal in 2021, Pandé said a comprehensive retrospective of his career was still due.
The 2027 exhibition will be held at The Kalā Salon across both levels of the gallery and will remain open for six months. It will include talks, walkthroughs and educational programmes. Enchanted Matter, a documentary about Powell previously screened at the Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival, will also be shown during the exhibition.
Pandé said the catalogue brings together perspectives from Nepal and abroad, including contributions from art historians, educators, curators and architects, alongside more personal reflections on Powell and his work.
The catalogue is available at The Kalā Salon at Chhaya Center and Vajra Bookstore.
