On the occasion of International Women’s Day, Siddhartha Art Gallery organised a recollective exhibition titled ‘A Retrospective Of An Artist’ featuring works by Ragini Upadhyay Grela, a renowned artist and former chancellor of the Nepal Academy of Fine Arts. She is also the only female Chancellor to date. The retrospective showcased Upadhyay’s works from over decades, with paintings, prints, drawings and lithographs dating from 1978 to 2023. The exhibition was inaugurated by the President of Nepal, Bidya Devi Bhandari at Nepal Art Council. President Bhandari, in her speech, congratulated Upadhyay for her four-decade-long journey in the art world.

Similarly, Sangeeta Thapa, the founder and director of Siddhartha Art Gallery, said that Ragini Upadhyay is without a doubt one of the most prominent artists in Nepal. She added that Siddhartha Art Gallery has previously organised many important solo exhibitions by Upadhyay—namely, ‘Sensitive Woman’ in 1999, ‘Ragini’s Odyssey’ in 2001, ‘The Sun Never Dies’, ‘Buddha’s Light and Truth Shines’, ‘Samay Chakra’ in 2005 and ‘Love is in the Air’ in 2009.

In the event, Upadhyay recited a poem titled ‘When did I become Kali?’ that reflected on the violence and oppression women have faced in Nepal. In her speech, Upadhyay said, “My life has been art, and art has been my life.”

Pratima Thakali, the curator of the exhibition, said that the image of Kali has greatly influenced Upadhyay’s work. “I think Kali is a symbol for both power and pain,” she said.

Thakali explained that some of the artworks had been divided into series like the ‘ashes series’ and the ‘gaijatra series’ while others are put up following a chronological timeline. She has chosen the colours red and grey for the walls in order to break the monotony and help bring the artwork to life.

In the exhibition, most of Upadhyay’s work follows the theme of surrealism, fused with the demonstrative use of human bodies. Some works also had feminist and matriarchal themes. The exhibition was separated into three floors. The ground floor features artwork from when she was in high school and college. The second floor and third floors mostly featured artworks based on social and political issues.

Along with President Bhandari, the event was also attended by Naradmani Hartamchhali, the current chancellor of the Nepal Academy of Fine Arts, Chiri Babu Maharjan, the mayor of Lalitpur, ambassador of Qatar to Nepal Yousuf Bin Mohamed Ahmed Al-Hail, German ambassador Thomas Prinz, Israeli ambassador Hanan Goder and Bangladeshi ambassador Muhammad Zulqar Nain.