Sangee Shrestha | Contemporary Visual Artist
31 May 2026
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Sangee Shrestha is a Kathmandu-based multidisciplinary visual artist whose practice spans painting, abstraction, ceramics, installation, and multimedia work. Across more than three decades, she has developed a distinctive visual language that explores human emotion, spirituality, identity, memory, and social contradiction.Born in Lalitpur, Nepal, she studied Fine Arts before completing a Master’s degree in History, Culture, and Archaeology from Tribhuvan University. This connection between art practice and cultural research continues to shape the depth and direction of her work.
Her paintings are known for their psychological depth and symbolic structure. Through expressive colour fields and geometric forms such as rectangles, squares, and polygons, Shrestha investigates the emotional tensions of contemporary life, including love, longing, jealousy, spirituality, silence, and desire.
Her work often moves between figurative sensitivity and geometric abstraction. Rather than presenting emotion directly, she breaks and rebuilds the visual surface, creating layered spaces where inner experience, memory, and unseen dimensions of human life can emerge.
Ceramics also forms an important part of her practice. Through texture, tactile form, and sculptural expression, she extends her visual language into three-dimensional space, connecting materiality with emotion, cultural memory, and meditative presence.
Beyond her studio practice, Shrestha is deeply engaged in art writing, cultural research, and critical reflection on Nepali art and heritage. Her work as an artist, writer, illustrator, cartoonist, educator, and cultural documentarian reflects a broad commitment to preserving and reinterpreting Nepal’s cultural narratives.
Her career includes several solo exhibitions and participation in more than 300 national and international exhibitions, workshops, art camps, and residencies. She has represented Nepal across major platforms in Asia and beyond, while continuing to contribute to contemporary artistic dialogue in Nepal.
In recognition of her contribution to Nepali contemporary art, she was appointed Academician at the Nepal Academy of Fine Arts. She also holds leadership roles in several art and cultural organisations, including the Women Artist Group of Nepal, the Lalitkala Literature Society, and the Nepal Art Critics Society.
Education:
- Master’s Degree in History, Culture and Archaeology, Tribhuvan University, 2009
- Bachelor of Fine Arts, Fine Art College
Solo Exhibitions:
- Antardristi: The Inner Vision, The Kala Salon, 2026
- Spandan, GG Machan, Patan, 2022
- Sambeg, Gallery M3, Patan, 2022
- Abyakta Abhibyaktiharu, Siddhartha Art Gallery, Kathmandu, 2009
International Participation:
- 7th Beijing International Art Biennale, China
- 16th Asian Art Biennale
- 10th Silk Road International Arts Festival
- 16th Luxor International Painting Symposium, Egypt
- Yukung Art Museum Exhibition, South Korea
- Thailand Nepal Art Workshop and Exhibition, Thailand
- Nepal Art Fair Bangladesh, Dhaka
- International Independence Anthem and Plastic Art Exhibition, Turkey
Awards:
- National Award in Contemporary Art, Nepal Academy of Fine Arts, 2018
- Special Award in Contemporary Art, Nepal Academy of Fine Arts, 2015
- Bhadrakumari Ghale Fine Art Honour, 2014
- Araniko National Art Award Gold Medal, 2010
- Best Painting Award, Camlin Art Foundation, India, 2007
Professional Contributions:
- Academician, Nepal Academy of Fine Arts
- Vice President and founding member, Women Artist Group of Nepal
- Founding member, Lalitkala Literature Society
- Founding member, Nepal Art Critics Society
- Writer, illustrator, cartoonist, educator, researcher, and cultural documentarian
- Team leader for cultural and community-based research initiatives with Kathmandu Metropolitan City
