Philip Sugden
Philip Sugden formally studied under the tutelage of French painter, Arnaud D'Hauterives, in Paris. Since graduation from the New York School of Visual Arts and the Paris American Academie des Beaux Arts in Paris, Sugden has made eleven journeys throughout the Himalaya and Tibet, including the "Forbidden Kingdom of Mustang" in 1998.In 1990, he and writer/photographer Carole Elchert were awarded grants from the Ohio Joint Projects in the Arts and Humanities and the National Endowment to create a video based on their 1988 Cultural Arts Expedition to the Himalaya and Tibet. As guests of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Tibetan Government in Exile, they spent six months in Tibetan communities throughout India, Nepal, Ladakh, and Tibet. The expedition gathered images and recordings for the PBS television presentation and a companion book entitled, "White Lotus, An Introduction to Tibetan Culture" (published by Snow Lion).
In 1991, Sugden and Elchert organized, with The University of Findlay, the Fourteenth Dalai Lama's speaking engagement at the university, where both are faculty in the College of Liberal Arts. While in Findlay, the Dalai Lama visited Sugden's studio where he accepted one of Philips drawings. As the guest curator at the Nicholas Roerich Museum in New York City, Sugden organized a six-month series of exhibitions, which included a solo show of works by Robert Rauschenburg celebrating the 1991-92 International Year of Tibet.
Sugden's drawings have been published in an exquisite, full-color book entitled, "Visions from the Fields of Merit, Drawings of Tibet and the Himalayas" available in Findlay at Moreys or on line at Amazon. This large format volume contains 65 full-page images of his location and studio works and writings as well as a personal message by His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
Philip's artwork is represented by Tribeca Fine Arts in New York City and Concepts Gallery in Pittsburgh. His work has been exhibited in more than 50 solo and 70 group shows internationally in such major cities as New York, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Washington DC, Melbourne, and Kathmandu. In the summer of 1998 he was invited to have an exhibition of his work at the Denis Bibro Gallery in New York City as part of the World Artists For Tibet, art against Chinese human-rights in Tibet. Philip is also an Assistant Professor of Fine Arts at Bluffton University.