KARMA PHUNTSOK (Australia)

I was born in 1952 in Lhasa, Tibet. My family and I, fled Tibet after the Chinese invasion in 1959, escaping into India as refugees.

I studied drawing and painting through my school years in India. In 1973 I studied Thanka Painting with a master of traditional Tibetan Thanka painting in Nepal.

Since then I have been making paintings based on Tibetan Buddhist deities.

In 1981 I migrated to Australia, and now live in the "Bush" north of Kyogle with my wife and son.

My paintings are collected world-wide, and published in various books and magazines. My recent paintings are mostly experiments, interweaving traditional techniques and symbols, with modern inspirations.

"The art of Karma Phuntsok is a unique and dynamic expression of contemporary Buddhist Art. Though formally trained as a traditional Thanka painter, Karma applies different techniques and materials in his work, often creating futuristic expressions of the time-honoured craft. The startling beauty and richness which graces his work is influenced by his diverse life experiences: from a childhood in Tibet under Chinese oppression to life as a refugee in India; his life in the Australian Bush, and the veneration with which he holds His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Internationally acclaimed, Karma's work is scattered throughout the world, in private collections and galleries, and in Australia at the Art Gallery of New South Wales and Queensland Art Gallery." (by David Templeman).

Visit Karmaart to learn more about Phuntsok's work.