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Kapil Mani Dixit’s nude paintings that celebrate and appreciate life

Artist Kapil Mani Dixit at his exhibition Nude.
Artist Kapil Mani Dixit at his exhibition, Nude

There are several events and occasions that one celebrates in their life. But, have you thought of celebrating being who you are? Probably not! There are rare occasions to do so. In addition, you might be busy being a strict self-critic, being negative towards yourself after comparing yourself to those whom you considered perfect or successful in society.

However, the ongoing painting exhibition, titled Nude, by artist Kapil Mani Dixit at Wind Horse Gallery, Gyanmandala, Jhamsikhel is all about celebrating and embracing every aspect of life–through nude paintings.

This is Dixit’s 18th solo painting exhibition and he calls it his way of celebrating — who he is and his way of impacting society with a message — to love yourself and your body, adding perfection is nothing but a myth.

The exhibition

Artist Kapil Mani Dixit's nude paintings in the exhibition, Nude
Artist Kapil Mani Dixit’s nude paintings in the exhibition, Nude

During the initial phase of his career, Kapil Mani Dixit made nude paintings, believing the anatomy should be accurate to get perfection in art. However, with time, his perspective changed and the figures in his nude paintings are also distorted and blurred today.

In the exhibition, there are 62 nude paintings. This time, he painted female nude bodies in minimal colours such as black, white and yellow. He says, “For me, yellow denotes happiness and is an indication of celebrations of my life.”

He has used acrylic on paper.

In this exhibition, he has challenged himself to capture human emotions through body movements within a short time frame, which is known as gesture drawing. He says, “I have not spent more than 1-5 minutes, capturing human motions, which I have then transformed into my artwork.”

In a set of 11 gesture artworks, on brown paper, he has made nude paintings of the female body. The viewers can not only see the difference in the body shape, but they can also experience how the person in each painting is feeling, such as happiness, numbness, melancholy and more although the figures are also in distorted forms.

The fascination for the human body and soul

Artist Kapil Mani Dixit's nude painting exhibition at Wind Horse Gallery
Artist Kapil Mani Dixit’s nude painting exhibition at Wind Horse Gallery

Dixit, in his late 40s, says, “If someone asks me the definition of perfection, for me, it’s just a state of mind; imperfection is perfection for me. Every human body is different and all are beautiful. We must appreciate ourselves and be proud of who we are.”

He has always been fascinated with the human body. He feels it is no less than a beautiful landscape. What inspires him the most is the fact that each human body is so different, yet so similar in many facets. He says, “There is so much mystery hidden within each human being that we hardly get to see that through our naked eyes. I have always tried to dig beyond the human body.”

He delves into the interior feelings of joy, happiness, sorrow, miseries, life struggles, and challenges for his inspiration than mere outer forms of the human body. He adds, “My artworks have always been symbolic representations of human beings’ inner feelings and emotions.”

Artist Kapil Mani Dixit's paintings
Artist Kapil Mani Dixit’s nude paintings

In the coming days, through various art events and workshops, he is determined to create dialogue and conversation regarding appreciating one’s body and soul. “Besides creating paintings, I am also into curation and every year at Mcube Gallery, we organise a nude painting exhibition to encourage the new generation in this form of figurative art.”

Nude art is still considered taboo in Nepal. “Not everyone appreciates or is comfortable with my form of art. It depends on what kind of culture the audience has been brought up,” he says, “I don’t expect my audience to think what I think about my painting.”

If you too want to have a look at how this artist is celebrating life through nude paintings, visit the exhibition that continues till November 19.

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Shrestha is a senior sub-editor at Onlinekhabar. Contact her at [email protected].

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