Born in Kathmandu, Nepal, in 1968, Tsherin Sherpa currently works between California and Kathmandu. When he was twelve years old, he began studying traditional Tibetan thangka painting with his father, Master Urgen Dorje Sherpa, a renowned thangka artist from Ngyalam, Tibet. After studying computer science and Mandarin in Taiwan, he returned to Nepal, where he collaborated with his father on several important projects, including thangka and monastery mural paintings. In 1998, Sherpa immigrated to California; there, he began to explore his own style – reimagining traditional tantric motifs, symbols, colours and gestures, which he resolutely  placed in contemporary compositions.

The artist represented Nepal at the 59th Venice Biennale in 2022 with his solo exhibition Tales of Muted Spirits – Dispersed Threads – Twisted Shangri-La. He has exhibited across the United States, Europe and Asia, including in the 8th Asia Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT8), Brisbane (2015); Beyond the Mandala – Contemporary Art from Tibet (2011), Volte Gallery, Mumbai, in collaboration with Rossi & Rossi London; Scorching Sun of Tibet (2010), Songzhuang Art Center, Beijing; Tradition Transformed: Tibetan Artists Respond (2010), Rubin Museum of Art, New York, Hood Museum of Art, Hanover, New Hampshire, and the Crow Collection of Asian Art, Dallas, Texas; Buddha in the Hood (2010), Red Mill Gallery, Johnson, Vermont; Sacred Images: Thangka Painting (2007), Alta Galleria, Berkeley, California; and Contemporary Thangka (2007), Smith Andersen Editions, Palo Alto, California. He has also held solo exhibitions at Rossi & Rossi London (2012 and 2018) and Hong Kong (2016).