Lord of Compassion: Images of Avalokiteshvara

February 23 – May 11, 2008

12006166178Oglethorpe University Museum of Art and New York’s Rubin Museum of Art have formed a special partnership. Oglethorpe University Museum of Art (OUMA) has transformed a portion of the museum into a third gallery space specifically for traveling shows from the Rubin Museum of Art (RMA). The partnership will run over three years producing six exhibitions in Atlanta.

The first exhibition, Lord of Compassion: Images of Avalokiteshvara from the Rubin Museum of Art, ran from February 23 until May 11, 2008. Dramatic paintings and sculptures depicted Avalokiteshvara, the Buddhist embodiment of compassion, as understood in Tibet between the 12th and 19th centuries. Avalokiteshvara is the patron deity of Tibet. All-seeing, ever-caring and ever-responsive, Avalokiteshvara is protector, savior and intercessor. His many distinct forms, reflected in the selection of works of art, convey different perspectives on the Buddhist ideal of heroic altruism.