“I am drawn to nature, to the forms and colours of its creatures – the strength of a yak, the flash of a danphe’s feathers, the delicate legs of an insect. My sculptures, though, are not nature’s equal. They are metal, cold, still – mechanical echoes of life. They show what we’ve done: turned a living world into a dump. My work is art, but it is also a mirror, reflecting our recklessness.”
Read the Curator’s Note for Koirala’s exhibition “Metamorphosis”.
Saurab Koirala is a fine artist, sculptor, illustrator, and cartoonist based in Kathmandu, Nepal. His work captures the essence of Nepal’s rural landscapes, vibrant cityscapes, and rich cultural heritage through bold textures and vivid colours.
"Summer lingered stubbornly this year. The monsoon arrived late, but my weary spirit, returning from Syangboche, finally steadied. Taragaon offered cool respite; foxes darted playfully, squirrels raced across the grounds. Watching them, I knew I had to immortalize their wild energy in art. I needed fresh materials—scraps, remnants, discards.
It took days of relentless searching, but the pieces arrived: twisted frames of wrecked motorcycles, shattered car parts, forgotten metal. Each fragment carried a story. Who labored to build these machines? Who discarded them? Accidents, theft, excess, betrayal—every dent exposed the fractures in our society. The waste screamed of human greed, loss, and indifference. My emotions surged; my mind refused to rest.
Yet craftsmanship tames chaos. When skill takes command, emotion quiets and the mind ignites. My friend Jhankri (Yogen) stood by me through the storm. When we finally laid out the materials in the studio, they locked together like iron filings to a magnet. Creation called; I answered. During those hours shaping the sculptures, I slipped into something beyond myself—an out-of-body clarity where the work made itself."
Schools were given a unique opportunity to tour the Metamorphosis exhibition, combined with a meeting with Saurab Koirala as well as a studio tour.
