On Monday, December 1, 2025, the Embassy of Mongolia in Washington, D.C., hosted the opening of Mongol Zurag: Tradition and Modernity, where Professor Uranchimeg (Orna) Tsultem, Cultural Envoy of Mongolia and curator of the exhibition, addressed the guests with an overview of the artistic direction behind the show.
Professor Tsultem thanked those in attendance and expressed her appreciation to Ambassador Batbayar Ulziidelger for inviting her to curate the exhibition. She explained that Mongol Zurag: Tradition and Modernity presents a painting tradition shaped by interaction with Japanese and Chinese artistic currents while remaining grounded in Mongolia’s own visual heritage and cultural memory.
She introduced the two artists featured in the exhibition, beginning with the late Tsultem Nyam-Osor, her father, a respected figure in Mongolia’s art community. She noted that he played an important role in bringing oil, watercolor, and new forms of landscape painting into Mongolian practice. She shared that this exhibition marks the first time his work is being shown in such a diplomatic setting in Washington, following an earlier presentation in Venice during the period of the Venice Biennale, where it received strong reception.
Professor Tsultem then spoke about contemporary artist Urjinkhand Onon, whose work carries Mongol Zurag into the present day. She explained that some of Onon’s darker compositions, often associated with the “black painting” tradition of Buddhist art, emerged during the Covid period. Despite the heavier themes, she described the artist as optimistic in her approach. She pointed to paintings that show a Mongolian mother whose flowing milk forms protective shapes, or a lotus rising from a mother’s heart during a time of pressure. In her newest works, completed only months ago, Onon explores subjects related to the digital world and artificial intelligence while maintaining a clear link to tradition.
Professor Tsultem closed by inviting guests to return with friends during the exhibition’s one-week run, giving visitors a direct understanding of the work presented at the embassy.
