Tenzing Rigdol tudied art and art history at the University of Colorado, where he is currently pursuing a master's degree in philosophy. In addition, he also successfully completed a graphic design course at an affiliated institute of the TCV; he extensively studied Tibetan sand painting, butter sculpture and Buddhist philosophy in Nepal; earned a degree in Tibetan traditional thangka painting; and is an accomplished poet. In 2002, he and his family were granted political asylum in the USA; he currently lives in New York.

His paintings are the products of collective influences and interpretations of age-old traditions; they are influenced by philosophy; often capture the ongoing issues of human conflicts; and have strong political undertones - for him, politics is an unavoidable element in his art.