TIM LOVEJOY
A JOURNEY TO MOUNT KAILASH
RECENT PAINTINGS FROM WESTERN TIBET
November 9 - 22, 2011

For Immediate Release
W. M. Brady and Co. is pleased to present A Journey to Mount Kailash, an exhibition of approximately 60 paintings by Tim Lovejoy. The exhibition will run from November 9 through November 22 and will comprise a group of pictures, all relatively small in scale and jewel-like in the richness of their handling, executed in oil on panel, a departure from the artist's most recent working medium of pastel on paper.

The paintings in the current exhibition grew out of a trip the artist took to Mount Kailash in 2009. A solitary peak in far western Tibet, Mount Kailash is the holiest mountain on earth - sacred to one fifth of mankind. To Buddhists, Hindus and Jains, and to the Bon, the earliest Tibetan peoples, it is the mystic heart of the world and an ancient site of pilgrimage. To this day, every year, pilgrims come from all over Tibet and the world to celebrate a festival held at the foot of the mountain, located at 16,000 feet in a harsh environment which is cold, windy and dusty. A kind of Maypole draped with prayer flags is hoisted out of a hole in the ground and dropped back in, the resulting angle indicating the more or less propitious year to come. Due to the sacredness of Mount Kailash, it is forbidden to climb it. As a result, pilgrims circle the mountain instead, some almost running to do so in less than 24 hours and some taking days or weeks, particularly those who prostrate themselves all the way around. It is believed that by circling the mountain, the pilgrim accrues blessings - the more circuits in a lifetime, the more blessings.

Mr. Lovejoy's paintings are of the journey to Mount Kailash. They depict the remote and rugged places passed en route; the devout and joyful pilgrims in their exotic and colorful dress who struggle to get there across barren deserts and high mountain passes; and the indigenous nomads who, with their yaks and ponies and in their equally remarkable and elaborate attire, help to take these pilgrims, with their tents and food, around the mountain. The paintings reveal a world of contrasts: vibrant blue sky and brightly colored clothing set against a gray and arid landscape; happiness and redemption set against the reality of self-sacrifice, hardship and deprivation.

All of the paintings in the current exhibition can be viewed on Mr. Lovejoy's website, www.timalovejoy.com. For further information, please contact Laura Bennett or Mark Brady at W. M. Brady & Co., (212) 249-7212 (laura@wmbrady.com; mark@wmbrady.com).