“My artistic practice is rooted in painting and performance, through which I explore the emotional and psychological dimensions of human experience. I am interested in the relationships we build, the memories we carry, and the invisible connections that shape our identities and everyday lives. Many of my works begin with personal experiences, family histories, and observations of the people and places around me. The influence of my grandmother, the changing social landscape of Nepal, and experiences of loss, displacement, care, and resilience have deeply informed my practice. Rather than documenting these experiences directly, I seek to transform them into visual narratives that invite reflection and emotional connection. In my paintings, I work with figurative forms, layered imagery, and symbolic elements to create spaces where memory and emotion coexist. I am drawn to moments that often go unnoticed—quiet gestures, intimate relationships, and the subtle traces of time that remain within people and places. Performance art allows me to extend these concerns beyond the canvas. Through the presence of my body and interaction with space and audiences, I explore vulnerability, communication, and shared human experience. It offers another way of questioning how we relate to one another and how our identities are shaped through those relationships. Ultimately, my work is an ongoing exploration of empathy, memory, and belonging. I hope to create spaces where personal stories resonate with broader social experiences, encouraging viewers to reflect on their own emotional connections and the shared humanity that binds us together.”
Muna Bhadel is a Kathmandu-based visual artist whose interdisciplinary practice encompasses painting and performance art. She received her Master of Fine Arts (MFA) from the Central Department of Fine Arts, Tribhuvan University, Nepal, in 2016. Her work explores themes of emotional connectedness, memory, psychology, identity, and human relationships. Through figurative painting and performance, Bhadel investigates the ways personal experiences intersect with collective histories, creating works that reflect on care, belonging, aging, displacement, and the emotional landscapes of everyday life. Over the course of her career, Bhadel has developed a practice that bridges artistic production, education, and community engagement. Alongside her studio work, she has taught art for many years, including serving as an Art Teacher at The Chandbagh School and as the Lead Instructor for Kathmandu Metropolitan City's Skills Program in Education (Sketching and Sculpture), organized in collaboration with the Nepal Academy of Fine Arts (NAFA). Bhadel has participated in more than fifty national and international exhibitions, workshops, artist residencies, and performance art festivals. She has represented Nepal through exhibitions, residencies, and collaborative art projects in India, Bangladesh, Japan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and across Nepal, contributing to dialogues within contemporary art both locally and internationally. She currently lives and works in Kathmandu, where she continues to expand her interdisciplinary practice through painting, performance, research, education, and collaborative artistic initiatives. Read more
