A statue of a vibrant deity blowing bubble gum is just one of the whimsical items on display as part of a new exhibit: “Divine Disruption: The Art of Tsherin Sherpa,” at the Honolulu Museum of Art.
Sherpa’s work frequently puts displaced deities in unconventional poses or places. In one statue, the deity is in golden underwear giving a peace sign. In the same exhibit, a painting features a deity posing for a police mugshot.
“Divine Disruption: The Art of Tsherin Sherpa” opened Saturday, May 30. It runs through Jan. 31, 2027. While the topics of the exhibit — which include displacement and immigration — can be intense, the way in which the contemporary artist delivers them is not.
Aloha State Daily met with Lesa Griffith, the senior public relations and communications manager at HoMA, to learn more about the artist and exhibit.
“These are heavy duty issues that he's dealing with, but when you meet him, he's very quick to laugh,” Griffith told ASD. “He jokes a lot. He's delivering these heavy issues with a lighter tone: playful, drawing you into familiar images to make ideas of migration, immigration and political turmoil easier to digest.”
The solo exhibition includes more than 20 works, including colorful paintings, as well as irreverent sculptures. Videos also explain how specific pieces — such as “An Illusory Appearance of Loss and Gain” (2023), a cast bronze statue — were fabricated.
In the middle of the exhibit, a deity in polkadot underwear is surrounded by a circle. The halo of gold is filled with tiny images, including cartoon characters, such as Mickey Mouse, and fast food brands, like Taco Bell and McDonald’s.
Griffith pauses in front of the painting.
“In this one, you'll recognize all these different brands and personalities — everybody from the Dalai Lama to Banksy to McDonald's, to the evolution of Homer Simpson, and even aloha shirt style hibiscus up there at the top,” she said. “What he was trying to show here is the universality of all this commercial chatter.”
Finally, at the end of the exhibit, visitors can take cards and illustrate their reflections on the art or share themes explored in the work. Those cards are then hung like Himalayan prayer flags that float above attendees as they exit.
Sherpa grew up in Kathmandu, the capital and largest city of Nepal. As a kid, he studied traditional Tibetian thangka painting under his father, the renowned Urgen Dorje. Now, he works and resides in the U.S. and Nepal.
The idea for this exhibit came about when Shawn Eichman, who is the HoMA curator of Asian art, was looking for a contemporary exhibit, Griffith said. When he saw Sherpa’s work on display at the Virgina Museum of Fine Arts, he knew that was the artwork he wanted to bring to Hawaiʻi.
Eichman will join John Henry Rice, a curator for the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, to discuss the exhibit on Friday, Aug. 21, at the Doris Duke Theatre at HoMA. The event is free. Details.
Admission to “Divine Disruption The Art of Tsherin Sherpa” is included with the purchase of a ticket to HoMA, which is $15 for kamaʻāina. Access to the museum is freefor SNAP beneficiaries, college students at any Hawaiʻi state university or college, and youth up to 18 years old. Through a special partnership with the National Endowment of the Arts, Blue Star Families and the Department of Defense, HoMA is also currently offering free admission to military families of all ranks and services, including guard and reserve, through Sept. 6.
Founded in 1927, HoMA has more than 55,000 works of art from across the globe that span 5,000 years in age. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. On Fridays, HoMA has extended hours until 9 p.m. Get tickets.
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Katie Helland can be reached at katie@alohastatedaily.com.
