Shades Of An Artist

After his trilogy of Buddha-inspired paintings, artist Charan Sharma is back with his new body of works titled ‘Aksharaa’ which will be showcased at an upcoming exhibition this October. In the run up to the show, MARWAR catches up with the eminent artist to learn more about his new collection and his journey thus far.

- Joseph Rozario

AS WE ENTER ARTIST CHARAN Sharma’s residence in Mumbai’s Swami Vivekananda Road, we are welcomed by his genial wife, Nimisha Sharma, who as a devoted companion and associate to her husband, handles all aspects of his career, leaving him to concentrate solely on his paintings. Their plush, minimalist apartment, however, wears no semblance of the Bohemianism that one would expect in view of the fact that both husband and wife and even their only son, Pratik, are extremely talented artists. But the art connect becomes almost instantly evident, as one’s attention is drawn to a row of gleaming paintings along a wall of the spacious living room, which are artworks from Charan Sharma’s latest collection, Aksharaa. The collection, we are told, will be up for display at a week-long exhibition at Mumbai’s Jehangir Art Gallery from October 22.

Art in the genes

As an artist, Charan Sharma needs no introduction to India’s contemporary art world. Hailing from a family of temple artists in Nathdwara, Rajasthan—his father Motilal Sharma was a pichwai artist, while his grandfather Kubiram Sharma is said to have pioneered the art of gold embossing of Nathdwara paintings—he found himself surrounded by temple art right from the time he was born. His predilection for art showed early too. “Art has been in my genes. I played with colours and brushes as a child, and from an early age I wanted to be an artist,” says Sharma.

Journey to name and fame