Deepak Shimkhada

Deepak Shimkhada
Shimkhada in 2016
Born	(1945-09-05) September 5, 1945 (age 81) Darkha, Nepal
Education	Claremont Graduate University (PhD) (2001) University of Southern California, MA (1975) Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, (BFA), (1968), (MFA) (1970)
Occupations	Educator, artist, art historian, author
Years active	1968–present
Organizations	Indic Foundation Himalayan Arts Council
Board member of	South Asian Studies Association
Spouse	Kanti Shimkhada
Children	Leepi Shimkhada-Mahalingam Riti Shimkhada

Deepak Shimkhada (Nepali: दीपक सिंखडा) (born September 5, 1945) is a Nepalese-American with a diverse professional background, including work as an Asian art historian, educator, writer, editor, and painter. He currently serves as an adjunct professor at Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga, California, and has previously held visiting and adjunct positions at several U.S. universities, including Scripps College, Claremont Graduate University, California State University, Northridge, University of the West, and Claremont School of Theology. His teaching career began in 1980, and while he has retired from full-time teaching, he continues to teach Asian art part-time at Chaffey College.

He holds the position of founding president in two organizations, namely the Foundation for Indic Philosophy and Culture (Indic Foundation) and the Himalayan Arts Council. In his career, Shimkhada has actively contributed to several institutions, including Asian Studies on the Pacific Coast and the America-Nepal Society of California, where he also held the position of president. His leadership extended to serving as the Chair of the Hindu Council on the Board of Visitors for the School of Religion at Claremont Graduate University from 2006 to 2012. Furthermore, he played a foundational role as a board member in the South Asian Studies Association (SASA).

He has an extensive publication record, including journal and newspaper articles, book chapters, and edited books. His artistic endeavors encompass exhibitions of his paintings and graphics, which have been displayed in group and solo shows in various countries, including Nepal, India, Japan, and the United States. Additionally, he has made appearances as a commentator in several episodes of the History Channel series Ancient Aliens.

Early life and education

Shimkhada was born on September 5, 1945, in Darkha, Nepal to Ratna Prasad Shimkhada and Kausalya Devi Shimkhada. He attended JP High School in Kathmandu and completed SLC in 1960. He completed IA in Economics from Saraswati College in Kathmandu in 1962.

In 1962, upon receiving a scholarship from the Government of India, Shimkhada left for India to pursue higher education in fine arts. He studied at The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda and received a bachelor's degree in fine arts in 1968. He received his master's degree in fine arts with a focus on art criticism in 1970 from the same university. In 1972, he received a Fulbright fellowship to study art history and moved to Los Angeles in the United States. He is considered among the first few Nepalis to immigrate to the U.S. He earned his Master of Arts in art history from the University of Southern California in 1975. Shimkhada earned his PhD in education from Claremont Graduate University in 2001. His dissertation was in art and religion using semiotics as a methodology to analyze them.

Career

Fine arts career

Shimkhada's professional career as an artist began in 1968 when he had his first one-man show of paintings in Max Gallery in Kathmandu, Nepal. In 1971, in the second Triennale of World Contemporary Art held in New Delhi, India, one of his paintings was selected as the best work from Nepal and was featured in its exhibition catalogue. He had several private shows of his works in Beverly Hills, California in 1973 and 1974. He exhibited his last work in Chicago Public Library in 1977.

Books

Journals

• (2023) “Death: Never Done Grieving”, in Journal of Dharma Studies 6(3):1-1, December 2023. DOI:10.1007/s42240-023-00156-7. License CC BY 4.0
• (2022) "Tushā Hiti: The Origin and Significance of the Name" in Monsoon: The Journal of South Asian Studies Association, Vol.1, No. 1, pp. 11–19.
• (2019) “Mata Tirtha: A Sacred Geography” in Journal of Dharma Studies, April, 2019.
• (2015) Deepak Shimkhada with Michael Reading, “Return to the womb: feminine creative imagery of arghya in a Tantric ritual” in International Journal of Dharma Studies (2015) 3:12.
• (2014) “The Date of the Chandi Murals in the Hanuman Dhoka Palace: Where History and Faith Meet”, AsianArt.com
• (2011) Deepak Shimkhada with Adam Pave,“Expressions of Love: Images from the 1648 Bhagavata Purana Manuscript”, Exemplar: The Journal of the South Asian Studies Association.
• (2008) “The Future of Nepal’s “Living” Goddess: Is Her Death Necessary?" Asian Art.
• (2007) "Oil Lamps as Expressions of Devotion," Marg (Mumbai, India), pp. 102–103
• (2005) "Book Review, Ethnic Revival and Religious Turmoil: Identities and Representations in the Himalayas”, in The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol.64, No.4, pp. 1059–1061, Marie Lecomte-Tilouine and Pascale Dollfus (ed.), New York: Oxford University Press, 2003
• (2000) "Erotic Body & Exotic Costumes," in Proceedings of the 32nd International Congress on Research in Dance, Claremont, California, pp. 30– 36
• (1990) "Wind Horses: Prayer Flags in the Himalayas," in Arts of Asia, (Hong Kong), Oct–Nov
• (1989) Deepak Shimkhada with Muriel Reeves, "Narayana: The Sleeping Vishnu" in Arts of Asia (Hong Kong), Vol. 19, No. 1 (Jan–Feb), pp. 152–155
• (1988) "Forms of Nepali Folk Dance" in Folk Dance Scene, November, Volume 23, Number 8, p. 12–14.
• (1986) "Interaction between Painting and Architecture in Nepali Art," in Himalayan Research Bulletin (New York: Cornell University), Vol. 6, No. 1, Winter, PP. 20–22
• (1984) "The Masquerading Sun: A Unique Image from Nepal", in Artibus Asiae (Switzerland), University of New York, Vol. 45, No. 4, pp. 223–230
• (1984) "Pratapamalla's Pilgrimage: An Historical Painting from Nepal," in Oriental Art (London), Vol. 30, No. 4, Winter pp. 368–70
• (1984) "Museum without Walls: Wayside Sculptures in the Kathmandu Valley," in Arts of Asia (Hong Kong), Vol. 14, No. 4, July–August, pp. 97–100
• (1983) "A Preliminary Study of the Game of Karma in India, Nepal, and Tibet," in Artibus Asiae (Switzerland: Institute of Fine Arts, New York), Vol. LXIV, No. 4, pp. 308–322
• (1983) "The Sunken Bath of Siddhinarasimha Malla in Patan," in Orientations, Vol. 14, No. 7, July, pp. 46–49
• (1982) "Measure of Karma: Origin and Iconography of Nagapasa in Nepali Painting," in Himalayan Research Bulletin, Cornell University: (Ithaca, New York) Vol. 11, No. 1, Winter, pp. 12–16
• (1973) "Nepali Paintings and the Rajput Style," in Arts of Asia, Vol. 4, No. 5, Sept–Oct, pp. 38–43
• (1973) "Appreciation of Nepali Folk Art" in Swatantra Vishwa (in Nepali), a publication of USIS (United States Information Service), Kathmandu, Nepal, p. 4–7
• (1973) "Mural Paintings in the Hanuman Dhoka Palace," in Abstracts of the Conference on Nepal at Claremont, Claremont Graduate School: Claremont, pp. 28–30
• (1970) "An Introduction to Nepalese Art", in NAFA Art Magazine (Kathmandu, Nepal), Vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 23–28

Exhibition catalogs

• (2021) Virtual Exhibition of Contemporary Nepali Art by Deepak Shimkhada: SASA, California.
• (2014) Mother as Fertility, Mother as Goddess—The Female Torsos of Laya Mainali in The Sacred Feminine: Kathmandu, Nepal.
• (1992) The Tibetan Rug: The Nepalese Connection, in Woven Jewels: Tibetan Rugs from Southern California Collections Pacific Asia Museum: Pasadena, California.
• (1991) The Eye of India: Art of the people, an exhibition curated by Deepak Shimkhada at Palos Verdes Art Center's Beckstrand Gallery, Palos Verdes, California.
• (1982) God, Man, Woman, and Nature in Asian Art, Scripps College: Claremont, California.
• (1973) Exhibition of Nepali Art, Pomona College, Montgomery Art Gallery, Claremont, California.
• (1973) USC Collects: A Sampling of Taste, University of Southern California: Los Angeles.

Filmography

Awards and honors

• 2016—CST (Claremont School of Theology) Fisher Adjunct Faculty Award for excellence in teaching
• 2008--CGU (Claremont Graduate University) Distinguished Alumni Service Award
• 1979--AIIS (American Institute of Indian Studies) Research Award
• 1972--Fulbright (U.S. Department of State)

Personal life

Shimkhada married Kanti Shimkhada. They together have two daughters, Leepi Shimkhada and Riti Shimkhada.

References

External links

• Official website Archived September 28, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
• Official website
• Deepak Shimkhada at IMDb
• Deepak Shimkhada at Goodreads