Photos: Music Art Gallery
Kathmandu
A joint exhibition by artists Kapilmani Dixit and Roshan Bhandari is underway at Music Art Gallery in Sanepa, presenting what curators describe as a decade-long visual dialogue rooted in figuration and memory.
Titled “Contours of Two,” the exhibition runs from February 21 to March 21, 2026 (Falgun 9 to Chaitra 7, 2082 B.S.) and brings together two distinct yet intersecting artistic practices within Nepal’s contemporary art landscape.
According to a press statement released by the gallery, the exhibition features works that explore memory, perception and shifting temporalities through contrasting visual languages. While Dixit foregrounds bold lines and distilled figurative elements, Bhandari constructs layered atmospheres shaped by personal and cultural recollections.
Dixit, a graduate of the University of Texas (2004), returned to Nepal in 2008 and has since become known for his engagement with figurative and nude art in a contemporary context. Beginning with detailed anatomical studies of the female form, his practice has gradually evolved toward minimal yet suggestive imagery, often using isolated features such as elongated eyes or sharply defined noses to evoke presence. Over nearly four decades, he has received more than 40 awards and contributed to art education and mentorship.
Bhandari studied at Pune University under an Indian Council for Cultural Relations scholarship before completing his Master’s degree in Fine Arts at Tribhuvan University, graduating as faculty topper in 2012–13. His work reinterprets Nepali folklore and oral traditions through abstract forms. He has exhibited internationally, including in India, Italy, Bangladesh and the Philippines.
It adds that, despite stylistic differences, the exhibition reveals thematic intersections between the individual and collective, tradition and transformation. Including the comments on the show by artist Mukti Singh Thapa, it states that contemporary reinterpretations of traditional themes should not be diminished when grounded in lived experience. Likewise, Roshan Mishra, Director of Taragaon Next, noted that Dixit’s lines echo Nepal’s landscapes, while Bhandari’s central figures provide an emotional entry point into abstraction.
The exhibition reflects not only artistic output but the gradual evolution of two parallel creative journeys within Nepal’s contemporary art scene.
