North Carolina’s Ackland Art Museum showcasing Hindu gods

“Art from Southern and Western Asia” exhibition at Ackland Art Museum of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is displaying various Hindu gods till December 31.

 

Made of sandstone, granite, phyllite, green schist, bronze and copper; various Hindu deities shown include Vishnu, Ganesha, Parvati, Varaha; besides Shiva Linga and Saint Sambandar; some as old as second century CE and some never displayed before.

 

Commending Ackland Art Museum for exhibiting Hindu deities, distinguished Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada today, said that art had a long and rich tradition in Hinduism and ancient Sanskrit literature talked about religious paintings of deities on wood or cloth.

 

Rajan Zed, who is President of Universal Society of Hinduism, urged major art museums of the world, including Musee du Louvre and Musee d’Orsay of Paris, Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Los Angeles Getty Center, Uffizi Gallery of Florence (Italy), Art Institute of Chicago, Tate Modern of London, Prado Museum of Madrid, National Gallery of Art in Washington DC, etc., to frequently organize Hindu art focused exhibitions, thus sharing the rich Hindu art heritage with the rest of the world.

 

Ackland Art Museum also conducts yoga sessions in its galleries, which include yoga poses inspired by the art in the gallery.

 

Claimed to be “one of North Carolina’s most important cultural resources”, Ackland Art Museum, launched 1958, has over 17,000 artworks in its permanent collection. Peter Nisbet is Interim Director and Chief Curator.