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About Artist

Mukesh Sharma grew up in Rajasthan, the north western desert state of India, and the visual richness, intensity and culture of his native state are clearly visible in works today. ‘In Rajasthan, people lead a colorful and ambiguous life based on their cultural legacy. As a young man, I became aware of the complexities of an urban life where people live with another kind of ambiguity based on pure pragmatism. With this contrast, I realized the innocence of my native state and its very pure fullness of color coming from the need to protect oneself from the harshness of a desert climate,’ explains Mukesh. Having gained his degree in painting, Mukesh did his masters in printing at the famed Faculty of Fine Arts MS University of Baroda. Having won many awards and scholarships for his works, these print aesthetics are strongly evident in his vibrant graphic painting style today. He cites his influences as the block painting of Sanganer, Rajasthan miniatures and wall fresco, and ‘super-flat’. Super-flat is the post-modern art movement founded by Takashi Murakamian characterized by flattened images and an ambition to merge high and low culture. ‘I have kept the figuration as two dimensional as possible to relate to the depth-less and soullessness of burgeoning India, but the hues and shades are as vivid and vibrant as the spirit of Indian cultural diversity,’ says Mukesh. ‘By using different ready-made materials and objects, I try to synthesize materials to show a complex idea in a straight forward narrative. For example, I collect computer keys to use in my works in order to narrate the influence and impact of technology on present human condition. Similarly, I gather and place objects of substance and non-substance to give body and meaning to my artistic constructions.’ His current works are drawn from the simple storytelling style of Rajasthan folklore. ‘Ironically, my stories are not songs of valor or heroism of Rajputana battle field but of the political killing fields,’ he explains. The purity and crispness of the layers of color in Mukesh’s work conceal a complex construction. The result is a contradiction – two-dimensional works which jump from the surface with vibrancy and energy. Mukesh has exhibited his work across the world – from Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, and Korea to Venice and Canada. His work has also been bought by several contemporary art collectors. He lives and works in New Delhi.