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
March 7 – July 6, 2025
Lecture: Friday, March 7 from 6-7pm (in-person and live-streamed)
Exhibition Tours: Beginning Sunday, March 9 (times vary)
Free Spring Break Family Day: Tuesday, March 11, 10am-7pm

The San Antonio Museum of Art is pleased to open Envisioning the Hindu Divine: Expanding Darshan and Manjari Sharma, an exhibition 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.

Be sure to catch an evening lecture on opening day, Meeting Some Gods: Contemporary and Classic Visions of Hinduism, with curator Katherine Anne Paul. Explore the rich diversity of Hindu art through Manjari Sharma’s striking portraits of nine major deities, alongside historic depictions from the Birmingham Museum of Art and SAMA. This illustrated lecture examines Sharma’s work in dialogue with traditional representations of Ganesha, Lakshmi, Saraswati, and others, highlighting India’s artistic influence across Cambodia, Indonesia, Nepal, and Thailand.

To learn more and view all the related programs, click here.