“Taragaon Museum in collaboration with Kathmandu University Department of Art & Design invites you to the exhibition A Painting Review by Mike Krajniak.
The exhibition will be inaugurated by Ms.Reshu Aryal Dhungana Executive Director of Fulbright Commission/USEF-Nepal.

Artist Statement
In 1982 I was invited to Kathmandu as an advisor/designer to an ailing handicraft production project. That project eventually became Dhukuti, a not for profit association that, after 35 years, still provides design, training, sales (domestic / foreign) and market promotion services to hundreds of mostly home based low income women.
During that time I became friends with a young Nepali artist who taught me how to paint with water colors and oils. Eventually I joined the Kathmandu University Department of Art and Design and formally became an art student. After years of amateur messing with paint and brush I entered a world of serious pursuit ….. illusion through art. As a first year project, I was encouraged to study the Masters.
I chose Monet and spent weeks scrutinizing his landscapes….with magnifying glass in hand…….trying to figure out how he layered his paint, applied his brush strokes and mastered the mystery of light. Monet’s mastery of light is still a marvel to me. Years later I continue to pull out the magnifying glass to further study his technique.
In addition, hours of browsing the internet to research painting techniques, I discovered drying agents, mediums and other chemical additives that add to possibilities for effects which add dimension, mystery and wonderful patinas to mimic nature on canvas. Experimentation encourages me to follow instinct more than intellect…to give up control in favor of taking risks.to let spontaneity take its course.
This exhibition is a collection of portraits, traditional Nepali subjects, abstracts and landscapes both real and imagined.
Come and Join us!!
Thursday, 26th September, 4:30pm
Taragaon Museum Permanent Art Gallery”