Draft:Phuntsho Wangdi

Phuntsho Wangdi（Dzongkha: ཕུན་ཚོགས་དབང་འདུས།, born on 1989), also known as Phuntsho Takchu (Japanese:  プンツォ・ワンディ , Chinese: PuEn  菩恩 ), is an artist, Bhutanese Thangka painter, and traditional craftsman. He is the first Bhutanese artist whose painting emerged as the winner in a global art contest..

He was born in Takchu village, Mongar District, Bhutan. "Takchu (Dzongkha: སྟག་ཆུ། )" means "Tiger Water", is used as his artist name and online gallery name.

He is a devout Buddhist, his artist name " 菩恩  means "the blessings( 恩 ) from bodhisattva(菩薩) ' in Chinese.

With 11 years experience as a Thangka painter, he moved to Japan in 2018 and started working independently.

He creates high-quality artworks by incorporating Japanese traditional techniques and materials into the Bhutanese art he had cultivated. Besides, he completes the entire process from the beginning to completion by his hands, including the painting canvas and the display frame. The creative theme is a fusion of tradition and modernity.

His precise works using the piping technique (Dzongkha: chongbur སྐྱོང་བུར ) and the ultra-fine-point brush strokes based in Bhutanese traditional art, those are contributing to the dissemination and development of Bhutanese traditional art overseas.

Meanwhile, his works based on Buddhism teachings have the role of making people aware of the Buddhism spirit of peace. This shows that Buddhist art, which was once limited to temples and believers, seems to be gradually being recognized as a symbol of peace in a modern society which values Diversity.

== Career ==  Mastered Bhutanese traditional painting technique (2007-2017) 

After completed the 6 years painting course at the National Institute of Zorig Chusum (Dzongkha: བཟོ་རིགས་བཅུ་གསུམ ), the center of Bhutanese art education in Bhutan. he joined the working group of Lopen Tobgay, a master of Bhutanese Buddhist painting, and involved in national projects in Bhutan.

During this period, he thoroughly mastered Bhutanese traditional painting techniques deeply rooted in Bhutanese Buddhism.

The projects he involved in Bhutan:

- Projects under National Institute of Zorig Chusum:


 * 2010 Project for Royal wedding of 5th King and Queen.
 * 2011 Project for 1000 bodies of Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal statues.

- Projects under the master(Lopen Tobgay):


 * 2013-2017 Murals Project inside the Buddha Dordenma statue (Dzongkha: སྟོན་པ་རྡོར་གདན་མ ), at Kuensel Phodrang (Dzongkha: ཀུན་གསལ་ཕོ་བྲང, or "Buddha Point"), Thimphu, Bhutan.
 * 2015-2016 Murals Project at new Wangdue Phodrang (Dzongkha: དབང་འདུས་ཕོ་བྲང ) Dzong.
 * 2016 Murals Project at Ugyen Pema Woedling Zangtogpelri (Dzongkha: ཨོ་རྒྱན་པདྨ་འོད་གླིང་བཟང་མདོག་དཔལ་རི ) at Bongdi, Paro.
 * 2017 Murals Project at Dratong Goenpa Monastery (Dzongkha: མདའ་སྟོང་དགོན་པ ) at Shengana, Punakha.

 Independent (2018~) 

In 2018, he moved his base to Japan and established the "Bhutanese Traditional Art Studio".

He incorporated Japanese traditional techniques and materials into the Bhutanese traditional art which he had cultivated, and started creating high-quality works. Actively seeking international exposure, he approaches the art galleries or exhibitions to showcase his creations beyond Japan. In 2023, he was awarded "the Champion" among 4,262 entries from 76 countries at the International Artists Grand Prix Competition of the "2023 Art Revolution Taipei". Through these efforts, he is committed to promoting the artistic excellence of Bhutanese art to a wider audience.

Achievement
Exhibition


 * 2018 Solo Show, Yotsuya, Tokyo.
 * 2019 Group Exhibited at the "3rd art free ~ Lake Biwa Exhibition" at Otsu, Shiga, Japan.
 * 2019 Solo exhibition "The Form of Happiness" at gallery-"KAN" in Narita, Japan.
 * 2021 Solo "Bhutan Traditional Art Studio Exhibition" at the Gallery-"Mozart" in Kyobashi, Tokyo.
 * 2021 Solo exhibition "The Color of Happiness" at gallery-"KAN" in Narita, Japan.
 * 2022 Group Exhibited at the "ARTISAN" of Gallery-"Meison de Neko" in Kyobashi, Tokyo.
 * 2023 Group Exhibited at the "NAU 21st Century Group Exhibition" at the National Art Center, Tokyo.
 * 2019/2023 at International Artists Grand Prize Competition.
 * 2020/2021/2022/2024 at "Art Revolution Taipei".

Magazine/Media


 * 2019 On ART REPORT of an art magazine-Monthly Gallery No.7.
 * 2019 On a magazine-"School Education - Practical Library Vol.4" published by GYOSEI.
 * 2023 On the TV program- ”OUR BLUE PLANET To the Future of the Crystal-clear Blue Earth” of NHK WORLD. (Interview)
 * 2023 10MAY heyshow.com ( 黑秀網 ) Article.
 * 2023 03OCT BBS (Bhutan Broadcasting Service) News(Dzongka and English).
 * 2023 04OCT DAILY BHUTAN Article.

Awards/Collection


 * 2011 Awarded "Grand Prize" at the drawing competition at National Institute of Zorig Chusum.
 * 2019 Awarded "Gallery Award" among 4,262 works from 81 countries at International Artists Grand Prize Competition of "2019 Art Revolution Taipei".
 * 2021 Official collection of Ginza Kamokudou (Ginza 1-chome Okuno Building, Haiku Salon).
 * 2023 Awarded "the Champion" among 4,262 works from 76 countries at International Artists Grand Prize Competition of "2023 Art Revolution Taipei".

Project/Event


 * 2018 Talk show, Yotsuya, Tokyo.
 * 2018 Worked for a photo exhibition "GOKAB ~Bhutanese HIPHOP~" by Kensaku Seki who won FUJIFILM AWARD of International Portfolio Review at FUJIFILM SQUARE, Roppongi, Tokyo
 * 2019-2020 Opened "Art Class" at JOYFUL HONDA Tomisato, Chiba, Japan.
 * 2022(Tiger Water Male Year on Bhutan calendar) Official release of the online gallery- "Gallery TAKCHU/虎水畫廊".
 * 2022 Talk show at GNH Travel&Service online event- "The 11th Got to know Bhutan! Connect online in Bhutan".
 * 2023 Talk show and mural project on 2023 Yazu-Bhutan village Festival.