Organised amidst a crowd made up of mostly artists and art connoisseurs, it whipped up plenty of excitement in the vibrant Nepali art scene with some of the big names being auctioned off in it. The author of the painting that was sold at Rs 16,500 was renowned artist and academician Vijay Thapa and the buyer was none other than Shashi Bikram Shah, an acclaimed artist himself; and as the auctioneer announced the deal final, the former made history in the contemporary Nepali art market by becoming the first artist whose painting was sold in an art auction.

"Nepal is famous and popular among the world for its rich art and cultural heritage, and we have opened this art gallery with the aim to do just that - develop as well as promote Nepali art throughout the world," said Sudarshan B. Rana, proprietor of Bhav Art Gallery and also a sculptor, talking about the reason behind holding this kind of event.

”The gallery has always been promoting the artists and their creation and, looking at the overwhelming response we have received this time, we have plans to organize similar kinds of events in the days to come," he said.

Called “art party-2005” and described as an art festival in the form of an exhibition, some 50 artists with big names such as Uttam Nepali, Vijay Thapa, Krishna Manandhar and Shashi Bikram Shah had participated in the art exhibition cum auction. But although only few paintings and sculptors were sold in the auction, it indeed started an altogether new trend in the Nepalese art scene – selling works of art by holding auctions - and for this, said an emerging young artist Krishna Shah, the organisers should be thanked. nepalnews.com Anand Gurung Nov 21 05