Raja Ram Sharma: Contemporary Paintings from Rajasthan

On view September 7 to October 29, 2012, The Drawing Room in East Hampton is pleased to present "Raja Ram Sharma | Contemporary Paintings from Rajasthan".

Trained in the Nathdwara School that was founded in 17th century Rajasthan, Raja Ram Sharma is a master miniature and temple painter living in Udaipur, India. In contemporary culture in Rajasthan this means that his daily work is devoted to painting pichwai, the cloth paintings hung as offerings behind the image of the deity in Hindu temples. In his own time, away from his pichwai workshop, Sharma creates his own art: miniature paintings about the land, and the spirit and art of Rajasthan.

Sharma’s quiet miniatures of the landscape, the architecture and the gardens of Rajasthan recall the exquisite illustrated manuscripts painted in the imperial Mughal ateliers where Hindu and Islamic traditions were fused with the influence of Persian court painting. However, rather than depicting courtly life and conquests, Mr. Sharma gives delicate form to his concerns about the fragile water supply in Rajasthan and the loss of connection between humanity and history. The absence of the figure is the most haunting aspect of these paintings. Considering the strong narrative tradition in which he was trained to copy the military and romantic escapades of the Mughal court, Sharma’s paintings are a unique voice addressing a contemporary universal response to the natural world and to cultural history.

See below for full press release and selected works.