Category: Exhibitions

Karma Jurmi 

A solo exhibition

Karma Jurmi did not really see himself as an artist, and neither did he see calligraphy as an art or his work with bronze and metal.The warmth and company from the art community and other artists supported his effort to grow as an artist. Thus, came the Lungta Art Festival and the call for a solo exhibition. That led to the birth of Boundless Stokes, the first solo exhibition for Karma Jurmi and the first Calligraphy exhibition. With the theme of the festival “Lungta” Karma untangles his own journey as an artist.

Boundless Strokes is an expression of courage, presence and surrender by Karma Jurmi, a calligraphy artist. The exhibition is also an act of release, as for years, Karma’s calligraphy found its space only in school banners, posters and number plates. Thus, for Karma, Boundless strokes are breaking  structures and turning it into an artistic inquiry.

The first  artwork you will encounter as you enter is the skull of a yak with a prayer. This is an act of respect to the animal for his or her service and a prayer for the one who has passed on. Likewise, the Boundless Strokes offers a practice every Bhutanese or a Buddhist starts their day with. With a stroke of a brush, the words of the Buddha are carefully written on the traditional daphne paper. The combination brings stories of nostalgia from childhood and seamlessly blends into moments of individual experience and practices. It is a visual language element relatable to one’s daily life.

For the general Bhutanese, the Bhutanese calligraphy is strongly associated with formal work, karma’s work of art creates a space to “just be.” The stroke is a rhythm with the ink and the brush. The rhythm is a blend of structure, light, free and pace.

The process is that of patience and the result is practicing patience. The artist eloquently brought strokes to life with reminders of impermanence, gratitude, kindness and perfectly ending with Tashi Gay Par Sho – May All Flourish.

The canvas itself resonates with nature with the traditional paper as the major canvas for his artworks. As a reminder of impermanence, karma used animal hyde as a canvas, a moment that creates uneasiness yet a powerful message.

Karma with his boundless strokes the twelve animals of the zodiac signs emerge, and this is his gratitude to the visitors and for their lungta to soar.

BBS Coverage https://www.bbs.bt/241717/

A Solo Exhibition

April 7th, 2026

You arrive at the artist village at Potolo Asha’s play ground for artist Kama Wangdi’s solo exhibition.  This is also the first ever solo  exhibition the village has ever seen.

This exhibition unveils when you enter, you are part of the exhibition. And to understand this, you have to be here—in Potolo.

Unlike any other exhibition, this is a living exhibition—built from salvaged wood, fragments of old homes, leftover paint and anything or everything Asha would have thought would be useful.  Nothing is wasted. Nothing is excessive – Only what is necessary.

You feel and see the memories, stories and the emotions the exhibition exudes.

Lungta at Potolo offers “unveil” in living – living in the present, to live with what already exists. To be surrounded by growth of fruits, vegetables and flowers, and mesmerized by the vision of the artist. The exhibition has rooted curiosity and wonder in the residents of the community.  When the residents are in the field, the art village scene is completely different; with paints, more flowers than grains, with biodegradable prayer flags hoisted on bamboos, with truckloads of old wood and metal being delivered. 

Truly, an art village, beyond the community, the helpers and carpenters on the land are more curious.  Curious helpers follow Asha for instructions and directions because they have never built what they are building at the moment. The carpenters wonder why Asha would dig out the grass and place it on a completely well done window or structure.  Slowly his helpers and carpenters are becoming artists, attempting to make wooden horses, and trying new creations, and also building homes for birds.

This is not just an art exhibition.

It is a process.
A reflection on life.
Contentment before your eyes.

With every step, the art village opens another space, under the tree, tucked away like a treasure.

An offering of small moments of wonder.

Link to the Press Coverage

𝐋𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐚 𝐀𝐫𝐭 𝐅𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔 (𝐋𝐀𝐅𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔) 𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐊𝐚𝐛𝐣𝐢𝐬𝐚, 𝐏𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐤𝐡𝐚

VAST Bhutan has opened ‘Lungta @ Potolo’, a solo exhibition at Potolo Artists Village in Kabjisa, Punakha.