YVAN Header Artist Manish Harijan
Manish Harijan
Manish Harijan is a contemporary Nepali artist who lives in Sheffield, UK. The son of a shoemaker from the Dalit or untouchable caste, through art, Manish questions the injustices inflicted upon minorities and the lived experiences of vulnerable populations in all societies around the world. His work traverses the east and the west, casting iconic images from religion to pop culture, smoothly embedding them in one canvas to create bold, beautiful and thought-provoking paintings.
In 2012, for his first solo exhibition at Siddhartha Art Gallery in Kathmandu, Manish brought together these themes challenging the status quo of tradition, hierarchy, religion and beliefs in Nepal. Unfortunately, the gallery was vandalised and Manish was sent death threats and accused of being anti-Hindu for portraying Hindu gods in superhero costumes. The exhibition was shut down, court cases were filed and UNESCO issued a press release to support the artist’s freedom of expression.
Manish is one of 45 artists whose paintings has been shortlisted and final acquisition for the UK’s Government Art Collection 2020/21. His works have also been exhibited at World conference of statelessness at Museum of Communication in The Hague, Netherlands, Welt Museum in Vienna, , Nepal Art Council in Kathmandu, Yorkshire Art Space in Sheffield, India Art Fair in New Delhi, CKU Copenhagen in Denmark, October Gallery in London, ROSL Gallery in London, Bloc Project Sheffield and Artist’s Journey #3 in the UK.
Besides paintings, Manish also experiments with installations, sculptures and multimedia. He works at his studio in Yorkshire Art Space.