News
Expanding Darshan, Manjari Sharma to See and Be Seen at Phoenix Art Museum: 12/16/2023 to 04/14/2024
In Expanding Darshan, Sharma’s intricate photographic portraits from her Darshan series are paired alongside historical sculptural objects from the collection of the Birmingham Museum of Art, many of which are on view to the public for the first time. In uniting these works from the 7th through the 20th centuries with Sharma’s contemporary images, the exhibition creates a dialogue about the long, inextricable relationship between art and religion, while introducing viewers to nine of the most significant deities of the Hindu pantheon and the concept of darshan—seeing and being seen by the divine.
A Solo Show of Surface Tension opened 9/8/2023, with Assembly gallery in Houston, Texas , See more here
A still from my Video piece from Surface Tension currently on view at my solo show titled “Surface Tension” at my gallery Assembly
Click below to see a conversation with curator Bridget Bray. This talk took place at Assembly on 9/9/2023
Site Specific Installation at La Colombe D’or hotel, commissioned by Soho House
I was commissioned by SohoHouse, to bring my art installation to the roof top pool of Houston’s historic La Colombe D’Or hotel. Thanks to the Houston creative community for their enthusiasm and my site partners for helping me execute this vision. You can head over to the gallery website so see more on this series
Santa Fe and Albuquerque solo shows with Levy Gallery & Glimpses of installation at Bishop’s Lodge
See more on Levy Gallery
Below are some glimpses of my site specific installation at Auberge’s Bishop’s Lodge in Santa Fe. Thank you to Strawberry Chocolate Productions for the drone footage, and Editing by Studio hands, Yemi Kuku. This one night only event took place on July 20th, 2023. My site partners Levy gallery and Bobby Beals presents, helped tremendously with executing this vision.
You can see more on this experience here.
See more of Bishop’s Lodge Gallery Installation here.
Darshan Limited Edition Portfolio Launch
Marking the occasion of the 10th anniversary, I am delighted to announce the launch of a limited edition portfolio containing all nine prints of the deities from my series Darshan. It also includes an essay by Stephen C. Pinson: Curator at the Department of Photographs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The 11” x 14" prints are housed in a teal and red linen clamshell lined in velvet. The clamshell is encased in an ornate lattice-work slipcase reminiscent of ancient Indian motifs. It offers a “darshan,” a glimpse of Maa Saraswati, goddess of art, music, and education, which is tipped into the clamshell cover.
Assembly, a Houston-based gallery representing me, has been instrumental in bringing this art object into the world. The video above gives you a virtual glimpse into this custom-designed piece—a big shout to co-directors Ashlyn Davis Burns and Shane Lavalette for their time, attention, and partnership. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach me.
International visual artist Manjari Sharma is showing a body of work at the Newark Academy David Teiger ’47 Gallery for the Studio Arts from Tuesday, September 6 through Friday, October 7, 2022.
LA-based and born and raised in Mumbai, India, Sharma makes art that addresses the issues of memory, identity, multiculturalism, and mythology. Her exhibit, Circularity, is composed of photographs that capture her creative ideas across time. Among these are several pieces from the Darshan series, which has garnered critical acclaim. The work consists of photographically recreated classical images of Hindu Gods and Goddesses that are pivotal to mythological stories in Hinduism. Most commonly used in the context of Hindu worship, Darshan is a Sanskrit word that means “apparition” or a “glimpse.”
In addition to sharing her work with the Newark Academy community, Ms. Sharma will engage in a one-week residency in which she will share her expertise, knowledge, and process with students. The Teiger Gallery is located in the center of the Elizabeth B. McGraw Arts Center on the campus of Newark Academy in Livingston, New Jersey.
If you are interested in visiting the exhibit, please contact Gallery Director Elaine Brodie at ebrodie@newarka.edu. You can see the installation shots of the exhibit here. Thanks to James Worrel for photographing them and the space so exquisitely
Thanks to Katherine Oktober Matthews for her insightful questions and conversation. It is rare to be asked questions that make you think about your own process in a new or more meaningful way. Please click here to learn more about this very informative Amsterdam-based blog.
Thank you to writer Lee Lawrence for reviewing my exhibit at the Birmingham Museum of Art for the Wall Street Journal. You can read it in its entirety here.
“At one level, Ms. Sharma’s photographs infuse the surrounding sculptures with some of the color and vibrancy of the world they once inhabited. More significantly, they repeatedly evoke the experience of darshan. Is it because we automatically respond to a fellow human’s direct and intense gaze? Is it something about the immediacy of photography as a medium? What we can say is that we leave with a better understanding of a visual exchange held sacred by many and alerted to the effect we feel, in our daily encounters, from seeing and being seen.”
Patagonia Commission
What an honor to be chosen amongst 7 other women photographers to document the erupting protests in Los Angeles. This political stance is a tragedy for America.
I photographed on the streets of downtown LA and was filled with admiration for those who spoke up and encouraged the masses to fight for their rights and not lose hope.
A heartfelt thank you to Director of Photography, Heidi Volpe for trusting my lens and giving me the opportunity to mark this moment in history.
I am excited to share that I am joining the roster at Assembly Projects. Assembly was Co-founded in 2021 by Ashlyn Davis Burns (formerly Houston Center for Photography) and Shane Lavalette (formerly Light Work). Assembly represents a diverse roster of artists working in photography, mixed-media, video, and sound. As a gallery and agency, they cultivate opportunities for collaborations in both the fine art and commercial worlds. The gallery space is physically based in the Museum District in Houston, Texas. I look forward to working closely with both Ashlyn and Shane and collaborating on various upcoming future projects. Stay tuned for more news on that front and cheers to new beginnings.
Gwen Ifil Mentor 2022
I was recently invited to join the International Women’s Media Foundation. I’m proud to be a Gwen Ifil Mentor and look forward to connecting with this incredible group of artists, activists, and journalists. Take a look at this visionary organization to learn about the impact they are making on the creative community worldwide.
Museum Catalog/ Merch
Thanks to the Birmingham Museum of Art shop for offering postcards, greeting card sets, and a beautifully designed hardcover catalog written by Dr. Katherine Ann Paul. A shout out to the BMA team and in particular Carey Fountain, Angie May, and Sophie Cosper for running such a tight ship and scaffolding the exhibit so brilliantly. Order your limited edition products directly through their website here.
Installation Shots, Expanding Darshan
I am excited to share a few installation shots of the exhibit titled “Expanding Darshan, To see and be seen by” at Birmingham Museum of Art.
BMA has now made this show available for a virtual walkthrough through matterport. It can be viewed here.
Acquisition and Exhibit: Birmingham Museum Of Art, Mar 19, 2022 - Jan 15, 2023
I am proud to announce that all nine works from the Darshan series have been acquired by the Birmingham Museum of Art (BMA) for their permanent collection and Expanding Darshan, To see and be seen by, is now open to the public. A huge shout out to curator of Asian Art Dr. Katherine Ann Paul, Director Graham Boettcher, and incoming board chair Sanjay Singh for believing in my work. Click here to learn more.
La Luz Workshop, Dec 2021
Thanks to curator Sasha Wolf and La Luz Workshops for inviting me to have a conversation and present my work to your audiences. It was a thrill to be in a line-up alongside contemporaries such as Phillip Toledano, Bryan Schutmat, Yvonne Venegas, Susan Meiselas, Gillian Laub, and Jess T. Dugan.
Faculty, Maine Media Workshops, Oct 2021
I taught a workshop at Maine Media titled “Bridging the Personal to the Universal” and it was an intimate and memorable experience. Shout out to Bridget Bray, Curator of Asia Society Texas Center, and Viviette Hunt, Gallery Director of Levy Gallery who were both terrific and engaging guests. You can read more about my class here. Thanks, Daniel Coburn for inviting me!
Kunsthalle Mannheim, Oct 2021-Feb 2022
Mutter traveled from the Louisiana Museum of Art to Kunsthalle Mannheim. Thank you Jennifer Meiser for hosting our work and continuing it’s journey in Europe.
Museum Catalog
I just received this beautifully designed and printed museum catalog from Louisiana Museum of Art. Consider visiting “Mother” in this beautiful space if you find yourselves in Denmark anytime until November 2021. The gallery shows some glimpses of the spreads inside this excellently produced hard-cover catalog. It can be purchased through artbook here.
Louisiana Museum of Art, April 2021 - August 2021
It gives me so much pride and joy to share that 122 pieces of artwork from my collaborative project originally commissioned by the MET were invited to be in Copenhagen, Denmark for an exhibit titled “Mother”, alongside names like Proust, Freud, Becker, Dix, Sherman, Munch, Picasso, Magritte, and more. Tragically, the corona-virus pandemic rages on, and I cannot be there in person to witness this exhibit. Read more about this exhibit here. Thanks to curator Marie Laurberg for including this work alongside so many legendary names I deeply admire! Please take a look at the gallery of the installation shots below.
The Daily Edit-aphotoEditor, Nov 2020
Heidi Volpe, Director of Photography at Patagonia, and author of The Daily Edit, graciously invited me to be a part of the legendary blog aPhotoeditor. What a thrill to go deeper into my art practice with someone who is so incredibly knowledgable and deeply sensitive about art and photography. You can read more about this piece here. Thanks, Heidi for this honor!
A Conversation about Processing Dementia through Art, Sept 2020
As the pandemic rages on, I was on an incredibly enlightening panel with Candy Tate who has been involved with Alzheimer's in the Black community, and Dr. Whitney Wharton, a cognitive neuroscientist at Emory. We discussed my work from a number of perspectives—a daughter trying to process what is happening to her mother, a neuroscientist who sees discernible stages of the disassembling caused by the illness, and the cultural and racial aspects of the disease that often remain unspoken and unacknowledged. Please view a video of this talk here.
Opinion: A Love Letter to America, July 2020
George Floyd is dead and injustice wreaks havoc. It is a gut tearing time as an artist and this is my call to action.
In the last two and a half years, I have learned about the privilege of living with unparalleled access to hikes, beaches, produce, and good weather. For that, I am thankful. I’ve also learned that it has come at the cost of being racially profiled, doubted, and humiliated on more than one occasion. Read more published: HERE.
Acquisition, Michael C. Carlos Museum, 2020
A big thanks to the Director of Education, Elizabeth Hornor of Carlos Museum, for inviting my work for an exhibit that opened just a couple of moments before the world shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic of 2020. I am proud to have a piece from the Darshan series be acquired by the museum for their permanent collection. Lord Vishnu will now always have a home in the incredible city of Atlanta.
Collaboration with Ojai Institute
I am proud to partner with my dear friend and curator Frederik Janka and support Ojai Institute. The proceeds from the sale of this artwork helped Cafe Arpan in Mumbai, Lum Art Zine, and Carolyn Glasoe Bailey Foundation Art Prize. It was a win-win for everyone.
Press and Zoom Artist Talk
Thanks to Arts Atlanta and The Alexander Report for doing an online review of Transcendent Deities at the Carlos Museum. Since we are in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, all the in-person programming has been canceled or migrated to Zoom. While this is an incredibly turbulent time, we were able to invite Maa Kali, aka Payal Bhattacharya to zoom into my Artist Talk. I’m thankful to the museum sustaining itself and supporting artists at such a challenging time.
Buzzfeed News
Thanks to Pia Peterson, news editor from Buzzfeed for inviting me and selecting my work alongside 16 other parents using their art to cope with the pandemic. You can read more about my story and many other powerhouse mom artists here.
Incredibly excited to share that this precious book I’ve been working on with Nazraeli Press is finally out in the world. Only 6 copies of Darshan remain as of right now so purchase one on their website now. If you want to see additional images visit my instagram here.
Levy gallery, Art on Paper, March 2020
Richard Levy Gallery is bringing a few new pieces of work from the "Surface Tension" series to Art on Paper held March 5-8, 2020. Other artists featured in this booth include Daniel Ballesteros, Math Bass, Mick Burson, Beau Carey, Jason DeMarte, Rackstraw Downes, Donald Judd, Alex Katz, Isa Leshko, Rania Matar, Earl McBride, Matthew McConville, Emi Ozawa, Clark Richert, Ed Ruscha, Eric Tillinghast, and Shoshannah White. Please swing by if you can.
Atkinson Gallery, SBCC
January 24th - Feb 21, 2020
I have some new work created from my residency showing at The Atkinson Gallery, Santa Barbara City College. The show is curated by John Connelly who is also the Director. features Brian Calvin, Gerald Davis, Karon Davis, Manjari Sharma, Xaviera Simmons, Tanya Aguiñiga, Mario Ayala, David Leggett, Ry Rocklen, Amanda Ross-Ho and Zoe Walsh. Read more here.
Schwartz Center, Emory University
I am immensely grateful to see this highly personal body of work find it’s first curated audience. Loss and Resurrection will be on exhibited at the Schwartz Center. I cannot wait to go visit these two bodies of work in person. A big shout to Elizabeth Horner, Director of education at Emory University, Atlanta, GA
Michael C. Carlos Museum:
Jan 18 - May 17, 2020
All nine works from Darshan are on view at the Carlos Museum (Emory University) in the city of Atlanta, GA. Transcendent Deities of India is a three-person show featuring works by Abhishek Singh and the Late Raja Ravi Varma. This exhibit is open to the public until May 17th, 2020 and it's been a joy to see it come to life under the direction of Director Elizabeth Horner.
Press Release here and Installation shots below.
Vision 2020,
Jan 10 – March 6, 2020
I'm currently showing some new work in a group show titled Vision 2020 at Richard Levy gallery which features fellow artists Daniel Ballesteros, Mary Ellen Bartley, William Betts, Tricia Capello, Jason DeMarte, Dylan Hausthor, Jocelyn Lee, Sallie Scheufler, and Shoshannah White. Read the press release here.
PhotoWork: Aperture 8/19 Edited by Sasha Wolf
Immensely honored to be invited to be a part of this book conceived and edited by Sasha Wolf on Process and Practice. The 40 photographer Interviews include Robert Adams, Dawoud Bey, Alejandro Cartagena, Elinor Carucci, John Chiara, Kelli Connell, Lois Conner, Matthew Connors, Siân Davey, Doug DuBois, John Edmonds, LaToya Ruby Frazier, Paul Graham, Katy Grannan, Gregory Halpern, Curran Hatleberg, Todd Hido, Rinko Kawauchi, Peter Kayafas, Justine Kurland, Gillian Laub, John Lehr, Dana Lixenberg, Andrew Moore, Abelardo Morell, Zora Murff, Catherine Opie, Ed Panar, Matthew Pillsbury, Kristine Potter, Gus Powell, Richard Renaldi, Sasha Rudensky, Lise Sarfati, Bryan Schutmaat, Manjari Sharma, Dayanita Singh, Tiffany Smith, Alec Soth, Mark Steinmetz, and Vanessa Winship.
The Squire Foundation Residency, March 2019
In March 2019 I completed and debuted new work that was created during my spring residency in at The Squire Foundation. This space inspired me to take my exploration with water into an entirely different direction. I’ve titled this new body of work “Surface Tension” You can read more about our collaboration and results on this link.
Blue Sky Gallery
Irina Rozovsky and Manjari Sharma: Talking Pictures
January 3–February 3, 2019
“Originally commissioned by curator Mia Fineman for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Talking Pictures is a photographic conversation between Manjari Sharma and Irina Rozovsky. Over a five-month period surrounding the 2017 US election, the two artists exchanged iPhone photos in real time using a call-and-response format. Living different lives in different cities, Sharma and Rozovsky approached the exchange as a form of modern-day letter writing. Their improvisational images reveal personal chronologies that exist within public and private spaces and respond to current political tensions. Most importantly, the dialogue is focused on the creation of new life at such a precarious time, as the artists, both pregnant during this project, conclude the 122 image conversation with the arrival of their newborns.” Artist Talk: Feb 3rd, 2019.
Palo Alto Art Center
Sept 14-Dec 30th 2018
Care and Feeding: The Art of Parenthood. was a a group show that featured artists responding to the once-pervasive conception that artists cannot be dedicated to their creative work while raising a family. The exhibition highlighted the challenges we all have balancing our professional and personal lives. Artists featured in the show: Pilar Agüero-Esparza, Alberto Aguilar, Lenka Clayton, Tara Donovan, Jeremiah Jenkins, Rania Matar, Jill Miller, Hilary Pecis, Lezley Saar, Claudette Scheuders, Manjari Sharma and Irina Rozovsky, Rebecca Silberman, Tabitha Soren, and Josephine Taylor. Press Release. Installation shots
Amazon: Artist Talk
Dec. 4, 2018 7-9 p.m.
Hear from artists in the Art Center’s current exhibition, Care and Feeding: The Art of Parenthood. Jeremiah Jenkins speaks about why becoming a parent made him want to drop his cell phone and pick up a bow and arrow instead. Manjari Sharma and Irina Rozovsky discuss how their cell-phone photos developed into an artful dialogue. And Tabitha Soren shares the connection between parenthood and her photographic series Panic Beach. Not just for parents, the work of these artists showcases the universal challenge of balancing professional and personal identities.
Acquisition: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Dept. of Photographs, October 2018
A year after I was commissioned by Mia Fineman, The MET acquired 122 pictures of my collaboration with Irina Rozovsky into their permanent collection. An honor I will take to my grave. You can read more about it here.
My Darshan work was in two person show in Mannheim, Germany along with Andre Wagner at Prince House Gallery. The opening was August 2, 2018. Thanks to Artist Andre Wagner for inviting the works and helping with the installation.
I had the distinct pleasure of showing work in a one of kind botanical garden called The Lotusland in Santa Barbara, CA. The exhibit was organized by Crista Dix of Wall Space Gallery and Wall Space also organized a wonderful panel talk with Asia Society Houston’s curator Bridget Bray and the incredible writer Pico Iyer. You can read more about the exhibit here.
Bossgirl
Madhavi Mukherjee is a dear friend and a tenacious artist who cares to empower women. Madhavi just launched a forum called Bossgirl where she features and interviews her friends, colleagues and women who she thinks should share their story. Every woman on her blog is a lady of substance and I feel fortunate that she includes me in her special club. Thanks Madho for your spirit and enthusiasm and for your passion to uplift.
You can read more here.
Featured on Artsy
Thanks Alexxa Gotthardt for a featuring
our collaboration in your piece about parenthood. Alexxa writes, "Artists have long made the physical and emotional vicissitudes of pregnancy and birth the subject of their work. Below, we highlight images that harness the discomfort, uncertainty, self-discovery, and pride that come with the process of becoming a mother." Please click here to read on.
Acquisition, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
Thanks to Malcom Daniel, Curator of Photography MFA, H , he writes. "Here is Laxmi, goddess of wealth and good fortune. Staged with painstakingly executed sets, props, costumes, and direction, the images hover between the traditional art they reference and something wholly inventive, between constructed fiction and straight photography, and between sincere spiritual expression and colorfully alluring kitsch.
New York Times, Arts
In each of these dozen pictorial tête-à-têtes, two artists share images — scores, sometimes hundreds — and the occasional brief video. They tap moments of beauty or strangeness; of everyday life or travel; of buildings, streets and weather. We see flashes of wit, poetry and even genius and observe momentous events, both private and presidential. Everywhere puzzles are set in motion for us to contemplate and parse, making our own meaning. - Roberta Smith
The conversation between the photographers Manjari Sharma and Irina Rozovsky is an intimate exchange about becoming a mother. The approximately 120 pictures of the two women are like a long, free association chain. Sometimes a woman grasps a form or an object from the image of the others and converts them in their own way - a vase, a smeared windshield, the interior of a car during a ride.
Featured on Artnet
“Whereas the camera once functioned chiefly as a tool for preserving the past, today people share their visual experience in real time and with unprecedented intimacy,” reads the exhibition’s introductory wall text. “Photography has become a fluid, instantaneous, ephemeral medium, closer to speaking than to writing.”
Read more here
MET show in "the Verge"
The effect is a stream of consciousness filled with visual puns and images that sometimes speak to each other or disagree. Some photos convey a certain ghoulishness as seen by a woman’s portrait with the face omitted by the camera flash by photographer Manjari Sharma. “Sometimes, we’re agreeing and echoing and sometimes we’re coming apart,” photographer Irina Rozovsky described her digital conversation with Manjari Sharma to The Verge. Both Sharma and Rozovsky happened to be pregnant during the commission period, so a lot of their photos engaged that subject matter. Read more on this article Here
EL Pais, Culture Section
El Pais is the most highly circulated daily newspaper in Spain and is considered to be one of the national newspapers of record for Spain. It is based in Madrid. They speak very kindly about my collaboration with Irina Rozovsky who is my partner in crime for this series. currently on display at the MET until December 17th, 2017.
The link for this article can be found here .
#MetTalkingPictures
Talking Pictures: Camera-Phone Conversations Between Artists
Dates: June 27, 2017–December 17, 2018
Location: The Met Fifth Avenue, Joyce and Robert Menschel Hall
for Modern Photography, Gallery 851
Ahmet Ögüt and Alexandra Pirici; William Wegman and Tony Oursler; Rob Pruitt and Jonathan Horowitz; Christoph Niemann and Nicholas Blechman; Nicole Eisenmann and A. L. Steiner; Manjari Sharma and Irina Rozovsky; Cyntia Daignault and Daniel Heidkamp; Njideka Akunyili Crosby and Nontsikelelo Mutiti; Teju Cole and Laura Poitras; Cao Fei and Wu Zhang ; Nina Katchadourian and Lenka Clayton ; Sanford Biggers and Shawn Peters
Press Release for this show can be found here
A print of the image above is donated for Artbridge's Spring Art auction. Learn more about this incredible non profit by attending their fundraiser on June 6th, where Sanford Biggers will be honored. You can also bid online on artworks from 40 incredible artists to. I sit on the board of Artbridge and I can whole heartedly say they are a very hard working group of folks. I'm so glad to be showing alongside Irina Rozovsky, Sarah Palmer, Dillon Dewaters, Thomas Jackson, Greg Miller, Sanford Biggers, Ryan Schude and many more. Don't miss the opportunity to bid online before it closes at midnight on June 5th.
Blah Blossom: Group Show in Soho, Opening May 18th 2017
I have a piece in a group show upcoming from May 18 - May 28 in Soho. The opening is at 171 Elizabeth street at a store front in Soho. I'm pretty excited to be showing with some incredible names. Please come out if you can make to the opening..
Three Person Show: Kunst Museum Moritzburg Halle (Saale), Germany. July 24th - October 15th 2017
So happy to announce that all my Darshan works will be traveling to a museum in Germany where I will be showing along side Andre Wagner and Manfred Paul. The show has been announced here and above are some images of the space it will be traveling to. The show is titled Reflections of India and opens July 24th 2017 and stays open till October 15th 2017.