Siddhartha Art Gallery’s latest exhibition ‘Fog and Feathers’ is the work of Pauline Driard, a French woman in her 40’s, who has been living in Nepal for the past 13 years. Driard uses the ink-wash technique to breathe life into her creations and finds her muse in nature.

The exhibition—a collection of 42 art pieces—is a nod to the beauty and enigma of nature with the natural landscape as a recurring theme.

“Since most of my artwork is based on nature, you can see mountains and the sea. The other elements that are constant in my work are birds and fog,” said Driard. “That’s also why I named my exhibition ‘Fog and Feathers’. “My paintings are minimalistic, and there's an emptiness in the painting that brings out the calm.”

The artist also draws her inspiration from Chinese Chan paintings and Japanese Zen paintings. This school of painting was what led her to the journey down the artistic world, she says.

In the past decade that she has been in Nepal, Driard has been working in the tourism industry. When she first came to Nepal as a 28-year-old, she stumbled upon the art of drawing and immediately fell in love with the art form. “Also, I was enamoured with French artist Jerome Edou’s work when I came to Nepal and discovered some of his work,” she said. “He had been living in Kathmandu for 20 years and I heard he was even teaching the art form here. I began learning under his tutelage four years ago. I am still his student.”

‘Fog and Feathers’ is an ongoing exhibition at the gallery until Dec 14. She is exhibiting her solo paintings for the first time at this exhibition. The exhibition will be accompanied by live music.

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What: Fog and Feathers by Pauline Driard

Where: Siddhartha Art Gallery, Babar Mahal

When: December 1 - 14

Time: 11:00am- 5:00pm (Sunday to Friday)

12:00pm- 5:00pm (Saturday)