Thursday, April 10

6-8pm

Donation Based | In Person Only

Join us for the opening reception of an immersive exhibition Tabo Gods of Light, with monumental images by Peter van Ham

This exhibition features state-of-the-art high-resolution images of the inside of Tabo's magical Tsu Lhakang, The Hall of the Enlightened Gods. This immersive exhibition will feature the interior of this ancient sacred space.  Over one thousand years old, the Buddhist monastery complex of Tabo and its exquisitely preserved works of art rank among the most fascinating cultural and historical treasures of mankind.  Located in the northern Indian Himalayan region and founded in 996 AD, Tabo is the oldest temple complex in the Tibetan cultural area that has been preserved in its original state. The main temple, of Tsu Lhakahg, "Temple of the Enlightened Gods," is a unique work of art: one-thousand-year-old sculptures and paintings, created in an incomparably fine style by Indian and Western Tibetan artists, together form a walk-in, horizontal mandala and is the focus of this extraordinary exhibition.

With special permission, Peter van Ham was able to spend decades photographing the temple halls, which are otherwise off-limits to cameras. Most recently, he was able to capture them in the world’s highest digital resolution. With four hundred images—150 of them new to his edition—the book that accompanies the exhibition provides detailed background information and the latest research findings on the spectacular yet endangered sanctuary. The new edition of this richly illustrated volume shows the beauty of these legendary sanctuaries for the first time in the highest digital resolution and describes in detail the entire gamut of Western Tibetan artistic styles.