By Caroline Orr
There is only one reality that we truly possess: according to the Union of Mongolian Artists, the “truth between past and future is the present.” The union’s “NOW ART 2026,” organized by the Shine Ugluu Artists’ Collective, encapsulates this idea. The exhibition opened with a reception on July 1 and runs until July & at the Union of Mongolian Artists Art Gallery on Chinggis Khaan Avenue during the gallery’s regular hours from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
The exhibition spotlights 17 artists, including Mongolian artists, three members of the KOMUST Media Art Team from the Republic of Korea and an individual artist from the People’s Republic of China. Their artwork manifests in a handful of media: metal sculptures, ceramics, traditional Mongolian painting, oil paintings and watercolor pieces. According to UMA's website, the exhibition seeks to create “a meeting point for diverse creative perspectives” and encourage reflection upon the concept of the present through international collaboration and varied visual art forms.
The artworks explore nostalgia, the relationship between Mongolian shamanism and Buddhism, natural beauty and cultural motifs such as horses, gers and herding dogs.
Horses are central to the artwork of artist E.Erdene-Ochir. “I use canvas to create art,” says E.Erdene-Ochir. “I incorporate nature and things that I like into my work.” His piece, “Reflection,” is a large canvas painting depicting a herd of horses reflected across the panel. Erdene-Ochir's use of shadows and color suggests movement: a pair of horses are intertwined, one resting its head on the back of another; in the center, a foal nurses.
Artist Kh.Bat-Orshikh similarly invokes Mongolian heritage within his artwork. Bat-Orshikh's work depicts Buddhist deities and motifs: “I paint Buddha’s hair with watercolor,” he says. At the exhibition’s entrance, his piece “In the Land of Jade” portrays Buddha’s hair, entangled with jade dragons, enveloping Yama, the Buddhist death deity. Another piece by Bat-Orshikh, titled “Righteous Dance,” similarly depicts a wrathful Buddha, gray-skinned and wearing a crown of five skulls.
