Curator’s Statement

Two men collaborative show of artist Kapil Mani Dixit and Roshan Mishra in MCUBE entitled “MALE NUDE” depicts the reality of men as a human and their body. Periodically artists have been using nudity as free expression of human emotions through various forms of art. Although in Nepal it is slowly immersing as the powerful means. Previous events in MCUBE, several artists had used nudity for their performance. This time both the artists collaborated together to showcase the different emotional values of men. Across the world female nude are widely accepted as the icon of beauty but male nude abuse as the sense of vulgarity. Kapil and Roshan came in collaboration to counterparts these sense of mysticism and cults. They both have created the body of art works with extensive research on their own body. Kapil celebrated the joy of being man openly whereas Roshan created negative sides of male being nude. Kapil has started nude painting since the earlier age of his art career. He got fascinated with nude model study during his college in USA. In his painting he portrayed male nude in subtle and with minimal hue. He celebrated the beauty of the male body. Likewise, Roshan also studied nude almost two decade ago, now he is portraying himself as the nude form in his work. In this exhibition he created art in the combination of digital printing media and painting. This works of art depict emotional aspects of male and aware about the dominant layers of injustice upon them. We cannot assume without being ourselves and we cannot act upon separating from self which itself is nude. Nudity is the nature. We never see animals wearing the dress or plants hiding themselves in shy. Well human being become so ideal to transform themselves to hide from the truth. All kind of emotional aspects exist within the male body too. We born and burn without clothes which is the ultimate truth of life.

Roshan and Kapil both studied at the Fine Arts College in Kathmandu and since then they know each other. Kapil went to Dallas for his further studies and Roshan went to London. Both of them started to paint nude around 1998. When they both returned back to Kathmandu, they got connected and soon found out that both of them had a passion to paint nude. Since the beginning of 2017, Roshan and Kapil planned and started to work in male nude series. For them painting nude is no difference they making a still life, portrait or landscape. Being male, both wanted to create a dialogue about a male form, its robustness as well as its tenderness, both feel male figure must be celebrated but not be suppressed.

This “Male Nude” exhibition is their first collaboration.

Manish Lal Shrestha | Curator, Gallery MCUBE

I have always been inspired by human figure. And that is the reason why I decided to study figurative art and continue my career in the same. I feel human body is one of the beautiful creations of god. Initially, I was inspired to draw human figure, while I was studying art in the USA, in 1997. It was one of my nude figure drawing class, where I was first introduced to a life drawing session with a live model. When I saw the model lying in the dark room, with the light focused over the model’s body, I felt so mesmerized with the beauty of the human body form. For me, that was it. It was the beginning of my real art journey. I felt, I found the real subject something that I had always wanted to focus on. Since then, there has been no looking back. I have done doing nude figure paintings, drawings, sculptures and body paint.

In this exhibition, I am exhibiting six male nude figures, depicting different forms of a male body. For me, this exhibition is all about the celebration of a male human body. Most of my previous work consisted of both male and female figure I have always been inspired by human figure. And that is the reason why I decided to study figures. But, this time, I wanted to focus only on male figures and their emotions. Being a male, it was easy for me to showcase different emotions and feeling of a male, most of which I have experienced myself. I believe our society is too judgmental towards the concept of male nude. While, female nude paintings are easily accepted by the society, male nude paintings/drawings are still not appreciated and accepted. Viewers still feel uncomfortable looking at the male nude. Through this exhibition I would like to tell the audience that male body is as beautiful as a female body which should be celebrated equally.

Kapil Mani Dixit | Visual Artist

I have used myself as a model in this conceptual series of work. My work represents the negativity that lies in our society about the male form. Most of the male feel uncomfortable to talk about their own body and share their feelings, thoughts and sexuality. My eight of the conceptual works shows a trapped male figure that has been struggling to come out from its shell. Masculinity is not always about muscularity, toughness or the robustness. It is about the ‘Linga’ which identify us by birth as a male, and that is what designate us as Purush (Male) in the society. Purush is a structure and a form, but the soul inside the Purush can also be still feminist, soft or tender. In the society we hold many status, we all could be a son, dad, granddad, brother, cousin or in law’s, but the existence of male within these statuses are an undeniable truth. It is quite disrespectful and sad that we often call men “Namard” (No-Man or a powerless man). Some of works shows the negative male body surrounded within vibrant, colourful surrounding and other work shows a body trapped and wrapped with the social status and fear a within. Depicting my subtle nudity of my own body, through this exhibition I have tried to reach out those males, who feel timid, shy, tender, depressed, confused, lost or even feel dominant; I want them to celebrate the male figure that is given to us by the grace of the god and be who we are.

Along with my eight conceptual works, three of my old works are also displayed, to make the audience understand that painting nude was a process since the very start of my career, these new conceptual work has evolved through my previous nude paintings and other related works.

Roshan Mishra | Visual Artist, Museum Director