Morphing Mahakala

Tsherin Sherpa was born in 1968 in Kathmandu, Nepal, and currently lives and works between California and Kathmandu. At the age of twelve, he began training under his father, the renowned thangka master Urgen Dorje Sherpa, studying the techniques and iconography of traditional Tibetan Buddhist painting. From 1988 to 1992, Sherpa studied computer science and Chinese language in Taiwan, where he developed a lasting emotional connection to the country. Upon returning to Nepal in 1993, he collaborated with his father on numerous significant projects, including thangka paintings and temple murals. In 1998, Sherpa immigrated to California, where he began to explore his own artistic voice—reimagining traditional Tibetan Buddhist motifs, symbols, colors, and gestures, and transforming them into a contemporary visual language. He is now recognized as one of the most prominent contemporary Himalayan artists on the global stage.