Members Get-Together: New Art From Mongolia, Traditions in Transition

Rat gods with Mickey Mouse ears, lone female figures wearing traditional dresses threaded with symbolism, nomads and ancient Mongolian warriors fighting robots and aliens – Zurag paintings visualize and combine tradition and modernization.

Contemporary Mongol Zurag (literally "Mongolian image") paintings revive an early twentieth-century style that developed during the Mongolian independence movement to express the ideals of secular nationalism. Since the 1990s, Mongol Zurag has re-emerged and been taken up by a new generation of practitioners who have found within it the means to address the contradictions of their own lives at a time of unprecedented urbanization.

Join us together with Uli Sigg – whose collection contains several artworks of both artists – for this exclusive members get-together, and delve into the world of Mongolian Zurag. We will explore the works of Nomin Bold and her husband Baatarzorig Batjargal, two internationally acclaimed artists who are part of the Zurag movement and both studied at the Academy of Arts in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. For the first time, their works will be exhibited in Switzerland and the artists themselves will be present to talk about their art.

The event will be followed by an apéro.

Bring a friend: Do you know people who don’t know us yet? This is a special Asia Society Members PLUS 1 event. Upon purchasing a ticket, Asia Society Members can sign up for an additional ticket, free of charge.

How to become a member?

Tickets can be refunded fully up until 24 hours before the event the latest.

Nomin Bold is a graduate of the Mongolian University of Arts and Culture. She applies Mongolian and Buddhist aesthetics commissioned by the ancient religious and imperial institutions, to comment on contemporary issues. By placing normal people from temporal worlds into Gods’ realm, Bold examines themes of fortune, politics, nature, and human relationships. In her mandalas, she is known to draw upon the development of underground resources, which cause environmental issues. Nomin’s works are distinct for their subtle yet vibrant colors, meticulous drawing, and somewhat mysterious subject matter.

Baatarzorig Batjargal belongs to the group of artists who graduated from the School of Fine Arts of the Mongolian University of Arts and Culture. Using the Mongol Zurag painting tradition (immensely detailed paintings synthesizing elements of Tibetan thangka, Chinese guohua, and the equestrian art of the Liao dynasty) as his departure point, Batjargal reflects on the historical transformation of his homeland over the last century, panning through the repressions of Soviet rule to the inequalities, consumerism, and environmental abuse of global capitalism. His narratives also address Mongolia's recent unprecedented urbanization and how it affects and transforms the Mongolian setting and landscape on a micro and global scale.

Dr. Uli Sigg is one of the leading collectors and champions of contemporary Chinese art. He received a PhD from the law faculty of the Universität Zürich. Dr. Sigg served as Vice Chairman of the Schindler Group, establishing the first joint venture between China and the West in 1980. From 1995 to 1999, he was Swiss ambassador to China, North Korea, and Mongolia. During this period, Dr. Sigg began collecting contemporary East Asian art, eventually amassing more than twenty-five hundred works that have been exhibited internationally. In 2012, he gifted over half his collection to M+ in Hong Kong. His significant contributions to the field include founding the Chinese Contemporary Art Award in 1997 (known as the Sigg Prize since 2020) and the CCAA Art Critic Award. Dr. Sigg is on the boards of Asia Society Switzerland and M+; the International Council of the Museum of Modern Art, New York; and the International Advisory Council of Tate, London.

Event Picture: © Nomin Bold and Baatarzorig Batjargal