What does it mean to see and be seen by the divine?
What does it mean to see the divine in new ways?
These are the questions underlying Transcendent Deities of India: The Everyday Occurrence of the Divine, an exhibition of more than 70 works of art by Raja Ravi Varma, Manjari Sharma, and Abhishek Singh.
For Hindus in India, images of gods and goddesses are an integral part of religious practice. These images inspire worshippers and artists alike, populating the art of the region for thousands of years and demonstrating their power through hundreds of millions of daily encounters as part of rituals at temples, shrines, and other settings within India and the broader diaspora.
Transcendent Deities of India explores the visual communion between human and divine. Through prints, photographs, graphic art, paintings, and illustrations, Varma, Sharma, and Singh offer modern and contemporary interpretations of traditional imagery that position Hindu gods and goddesses within viewers’ frame of reference, ensuring their seamless applicability in new eras.
To learn more about the Carlos Museum's collection of Hindu art and how it is used in religious practice, visit Odyssey Online South Asia, an interactive resource.
Click here to watch Manjari Sharma's artist talk about her Darshan series.
For the press
Manjari Sharma (born 1979). Lord Vishnu, 2013. Chromogenic print. Lent by the artist.
Manjari Sharma (born 1979). Maa Laxmi, 2011. Chromogenic print. Lent by the artist.
