Gyempo Wangchuk

Gyempo Wangchuk was born in the small town of Trashi Yangtse in eastern Bhutan and graduated from the National Institute for Zorig Chusum (a national institute of 13 traditional crafts). Known as the "Thangka Master of Bhutan," Gyempo's thangka paintings are celebrated for their exquisite technique and exceptional talent, characterized by vibrant and lush colors. His works stay true to traditional methods while adding unique, contemporary twists. Gyempo is a four-time winner of the Bhutan National Thangka Competition (National Design and Art Competition NDAC. In 2023, he was awarded the highest honor of "Master Artisan '' in Thangka painting, making him the youngest thangka master in Bhutanese art history.

His passion for art extends beyond his achievements in thangka painting. In 2012, under the guidance of Asha Kama Wangdi, the father of contemporary Bhutanese art, Gyempo began exploring the realm of contemporary art. Gyempo has successfully freed himself from the constraints of traditional metric thangka painting, navigating and even soaring through the free realm of contemporary art to explore diverse narratives. Through thematic creations, his art depicts vividly life in the context of East Himalayan cultural heritage and the process of modernization that Bhutan is still grappling with. Gyempo observes contemporary social issues affecting his country and the world such as war and the pandemic. He has a unique narrative style of illustrating these phenomena; using bold colors, embedding both Buddhist and modern iconography, but proudly retaining the underlying techniques and style of Himalayan culture, resulting in a truly outstanding integration of the traditional and the contemporary.

In 2018, Gyempo's relentless creative energy earned him first place in the National Contemporary Art Competition of Bhutan. He is the most renowned Bhutanese artist who excels in both traditional thangka painting and contemporary art. His artistic talent and abilities have always received significant recognition. In 2019, the current Fifth King and Queen of Bhutan attended his first solo exhibition "Ribong" in Thimphu, and multiple works of his are collected by the royal family and Prime Minister of Bhutan. Gyempo has since received numerous international exhibition invitations, displaying his art in museums in New York, Brussels, India, Indonesia, and Taiwan. In 2021, the Rubin Museum of Art in the United States began an art project collaboration with Gyempo. Subsequently, in 2022, his work Healing made the cover of the Rubin Museum's annual publication "Spiral." Gyempo’s continuous achievements led him to the nomination by the Sovereign Art Foundation for the 19th Outstanding Asian Artists Award in 2023, where he became the first Bhutanese contemporary artist to enter the finals, competing among 400 artists from the Asia-Pacific region, with only 30 artists advancing to the final selection.

The rarity of contemporary Himalayan art collections has sparked high interest among top global art collectors. Especially with Bhutan, a relatively nascent field in contemporary Himalayan art, significant attention from international museums and collectors has been garnered. Gyempo, as the artist who entirely transformed the face of traditional Bhutanese thangka painting by fusing the traditional and the contemporary, has shown the global audience the boundless potential of Bhutanese art and established an undeniable presence in the contemporary art history of Bhutan.