Upcoming Exhibition
Maa Laxmi, From the Darshan Series, 2011, Manjari Sharma (b. Mumbai, India, lives and works in California), Archival inkjet print in brass-embossed frame, Collection of the Birmingham Museum of Art; Museum purchase, 2020.48.2a-b, Photography credit: Manjari Sharma, © Manjari Sharma
Envisioning the Hindu Divine: Expanding Darshan and Manjari Sharma features forty historical objects from India and Southeast Asia and nine photographs by global contemporary artist Manjari Sharma. Bringing together the striking work of the rising contemporary art star with the historic collections of the Birmingham Museum of Art, this exhibition showcases nine of the most significant deities of the Hindu pantheon and their contemporary relevance in art and faith. These works serve as a gateway to the concept of darshan—seeing and being seen by the divine, a profound spiritual exchange of glances experienced through consecrated images of gods. The vibrant, varied, and sometimes contradictory stories of these gods—as well as their familial relationships with each other—are shared through the works in this exhibition.
Contemporary artist Manjari Sharma makes work that is rooted in portraiture and addresses issues of identity, multiculturalism, and personal mythology. Beginning as a multiyear, crowdfunded project on Kickstarter, Sharma’s Darshan series of photographs aimed to recreate the experience of encountering the nine Hindu deities. An extraordinary aspect of Sharma’s work is her commitment to creating each scene without digital manipulation. All items visible in the images were present when photographed, not digitally added later.
This exhibition was organized by the Birmingham Museum of Art, Alabama.
Maa Laxmi, From the Darshan Series, 2011, Manjari Sharma (b. Mumbai, India, lives and works in California), Archival inkjet print in brass-embossed frame, Collection of the Birmingham Museum of Art; Museum purchase, 2020.48.2a-b, Photography credit: Manjari Sharma, © Manjari Sharma
Lord Ganesha, From the Darshan Series, 2011, Chromogenic print, brass embossed frame, Manjari Sharma (b. Mumbai, India, lives and works in California), Collection of the Birmingham Museum of Art; Museum purchase, 2020.48.1a-b, Photography credit: Manjari Sharma, © Manjari Sharma
Maa Kali, From the Darshan Series, 2013, Manjari Sharma (b. Mumbai, India, lives and works in California), Archival inkjet print in brass-embossed frame, Collection of the Birmingham Museum of Art; Museum purchase, 2020.48.8a-b, Photography credit: Manjari Sharma, © Manjari Sharma
Vishnu in the Form of Venugopala, the Flute-Player, 19th century revival style of the 12th–16th century, Cast bronze, Unidentified artists who worked in Tamil Nadu, South India, Collection of the Art Fund, Inc. at the Birmingham Museum of Art; Gift of Emily Bourne Grigsby, AFI.30.2010a-b, Photography credit: Erin Croxton
Elephant with Riders Roof Bracket, 18th century, Mughal period (1526–1857), Red sandstone, Unidentified artists who worked in India or Pakistan, formerly Mughal empire, Collection of the Birmingham Museum of Art; Gift from the Asian Art, Collection of Dr. and Mrs. William T. Price in memory of Dr. M. Bruce, Sullivan, 2003.55, Photography credit: Carmen Gonzalez Fraile
Saraswati Riding her Sacred Hamsa (Angsa) Waterbird, 19th–20th century, Colors on wood, Unidentified artists who worked in Bali, Indonesia, Collection of the Birmingham Museum of Art; Gift of EBSCO Industries, Inc., 1991.759.1-.2, Photography credit: Carmen Gonzalez Fraile
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