Kingston NY. May 27-August 19

Dash Gallery in Kingston N.Y. is delighted to present its new spring show, “Beats and Buddhas,” a joint show with photographs and drawings by Allen Ginsberg and selected prints and original work by Gonkar Gyatso.

Both artists share an interest in the relationship between East and West- in cultural, philosophical or aesthetical terms- that converge in a show that is both deeply insightful and visually stunning.

Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997) is one of the most recognizable faces of the Beat Generation; an activist, writer and poet that used his talented voice to fight for the social, ecological and political causes close to his heart. He was a rebel, an advocate and a visionary, part of a literary and artistic group that dramatically changed the American cultural and countercultural landscape of the second half of the 20th Century. Images taken by Ginsberg’s camera of many of his friends and colleagues are included in the Dash exhibit- Jack Kerouac, Peter Orlovsky, William Burroughs, Gregory Corso, among them-. They are intimate portraits captured while travelling around the world, many of them inscribed with handwritten captions by the author. The poet and photographer’s lifelong spiritual quest, beginning early on with visionary experiences involving 19th century English mystic and poet William Blake, ultimately evolved into a deep commitment to and practice of Tibetan Buddhism in the final decades of his life.

“For many years we lived in the dark, without any chance of being published either because of the style of our literature or by direct censorship, “explained Ginsberg about the Beats in an interview in the mid 90’s. “We had many years of gestation in the womb, so to speak, which leads to healthy babies. We had a long period to build a sense of community among ourselves. Kerouac wrote his first fifteen books during this period, when he was writing only for himself and his friends. My poem "Howl" was not written for a defined market and I never thought of publishing it. There was a personal candor in each of us. Also, we were all well-educated and interested in beauty, so we wrote very beautiful poems and novels. We grew up in an atmosphere where art was made for art's sake, a kind of very independent ivory tower. We all also shared our interest in the nature of consciousness, which became increasingly important. We delved into Eastern thought, Buddhist meditation, ecology, sexual openness, gay rights, and all those aspects became permanent values that are still valid today”.

This extraordinary exhibit of Allen’s photographs also includes his “doodles”- delightful and whimsical drawings.

Gonkar Gyatso (b. 1961 Lhasa, Tibet) is a Tibetan British artist that has emerged as one of the most powerful voices of the Asian Pacific artistic scene and is often hailed as one of the most significant artists of the modern movement coming out of Tibet. Born in Lhasa during the Cultural Revolution and trained in Beijing and Dharamsala in traditional painting during the 80’s and 90’s before coming to the West for his Master’s degree, Gyatso’s unique blend of classical training and contemporary experience fuels his art with a perspective and sensitivity that provides us with a poignant glimpse into humanity and structures of power. Gyatso’s work which combines Buddhist iconography with stickers and magazine and newspaper cutouts comes out of a fascination with material and pop culture and a desire to bring equal attention to the mundane as well as the extraordinary, the imminent, and the superfluous. Gonkar’s work has been exhibited internationally including the 53rd Venice Biennale and the 6th Asia Pacific Triennial. Gyatso's work is held in numerous public and private collections around the world including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Tel Aviv Museum of Art, and the Chinese National Art Gallery. His work is currently on view through July 31, 2022, at the Francis Lehman Loeb Center at Vassar College. Gonkar currently lives and works between China and the United Kingdom. This show will make available work from different bodies of Gonkar’s art practice over the last two decades.

The exhibit has been made in collaboration with Carole Corcoran, Amy Hitchcoff, and Peter Hale and The Allen Ginsberg Estate.

For more information and press images contact: manuelsantelices@hotmail.com

Dash Gallery. 253 Wall Street Kingston NY 12401