Born of Breath, Returned to Stillness

Description

Born of Breath, Returned to Stillness is a meditative work created entirely through smoke, depicting the Buddha in a state of profound stillness. The process itself is an act of devotion and endurance: Krishan Gopal Ranjit works inside a smoke-filled room, allowing soot to gradually settle and form the image. As the artist’s own body becomes darkened by soot, the boundary between creator, material, and image dissolves.

Smoke—ephemeral, formless, and transient—becomes both medium and metaphor. The Buddha emerges not through permanence but through residue, echoing Buddhist teachings on impermanence, detachment, and the fleeting nature of existence. The artwork exists as a trace of breath and time, embodying the paradox of stillness born from motion and form arising from the formless.

Rooted in spiritual inquiry rather than spectacle, this work reflects Ranjit’s lifelong commitment to painting since 1969. It stands as a rare convergence of ritual, labor, and philosophy—where the act of creation mirrors the meditative discipline it portrays.

Krishan Gopal Ranjit
Born 1935 AD, Pokhara
Painting practice since 1969