New art spaces are on the rise in Kathmandu. From the cloistered Kalo.101 in Patan that has repurposed a traditional Newar residential house into a vibrant, collaborative space to the new contemporary art wing at the lovingly restored Taragaon Musuem in Boudha, these new spaces are not just adding more gallery room to the city, but also actively striving to take art out of the traditional white-wall gallery settings, as well as introducing innovative models of organising such spaces and institutions. Newest among the gallery/ art space scene is a restaurant, the GG Machaan at Jhamsikhel.

Sabita Dangol’s upcoming solo exhibit, Interconnected Affection, opened at GG earlier this week, where she will continue to be featured as the artist of the month. With 15 paintings and eight sketches donning the walls of the fusion eatery, this is Dangol’s first exhibition outside of a gallery setting.

“Out of my four solo shows, this has been one of the most unique ones,” Dangol said. “It has been refreshing to exhibit in a restaurant, particularly because it gives me a chance to showcase my work to a whole new spectrum of viewers, who might have never ventured into an art gallery,” she added.   

In addition to providing wider exposure to artists, the initiative also provides additional financial impetus, Dangol says. All of the artworks on display at the restaurant are on sale, and four pieces were sold on the very first day of the exhibit, with the artist having to pay a smaller gratuity fee than they would have to in a traditional gallery.  “It has been very symbiotic. Restaurant patrons get a chance to appreciate the artworks, while art enthusiasts, who might not have visited GG Machaan otherwise, are here as well—a win-win,” she says.   

Dangol, whose primary medium is acrylic on canvas, deliberately picked her vibrant and colourful Interconnected Affection series for the show because it explores motifs that would better resonate with the uninitiated—love, marriage and positivity.  Writing about the work, artist Kurchi Dasgupta wrote, “Simplistic at first glance, the works are so immersed in the artist’s own truth that they succeed in generating an extrodinary amount of visual appeal and engages viewers in inward journeys of their own. Ornamental and accessible, they hold true a vision of marital bliss in a world fast losing sight of it.”

Interconnected Affection will be on display through August 31.