Shriya Sharma ’29 debuts art exhibition “Agni!”

[Kaylee Cho and Josie Denny]

Anise Kim/The Williams Record

When we walked into the brightly lit Wilde Gallery in the Spencer Art Building, we were faced with a large oil painting of a red wormlike figure circling a woman with “WE ARE ONE” written alongside it. This painting is part of “Agni!,” an art exhibit by Shriya Sharma ’29, which ran from Oct. 6 to Oct. 13.

The exhibition presented works without titles or descriptions, taking viewers on a personal, emotional journey. It showcased a collection of her works from her summer as an artist-in-residence at Byrdcliffe in Woodstock, N.Y.

Founded in 1903, Byrdcliffe remains one of the oldest continuously run artist colonies in the United States. Sharma described the residence as a communal space where artists lived together but individually pursued their creative projects. She was the youngest of the ten visual artists there.

Building on a body of work she began last spring at the College, Sharma created a total of 18 additional pieces this summer, ranging from prints to oil paintings. They carried through the same themes from her prior works, such as complex family histories and elements of divine femininity.

The serpent in that large painting encircles her great-grandmother, a woman she never had the chance to meet. Based on the only existing color photograph of her, the painting was a piece Sharma knew she wanted to create before even beginning her residency. “She was really the cornerstone of our family,” Sharma said in an interview with the Record. “That’s why I wanted to honor her.”

From there, the exhibit unfolds through a progression of works connected by recurring motifs, including the red wormlike creature that lurks behind figures and in the background of her paintings. Drawing from her cultural background as a Hindu woman, Sharma used the creature’s vivid color to represent the tilak.

In Hinduism, the tilak is a sacred mark worn in the center of the forehead, associated with religious ceremonies, protection, and spirituality. Its position on the forehead is representative of the third eye. Sharma chose to include the tilak because of its connection to femininity. “Essentially, if it’s red, it’s usually associated with a divine femininity or a feminine goddess,” she said. In several of her paintings, Sharma extends the tilak around her subjects, winding out of doorways, in and out of frame.

One of Sharma’s pieces was a triptych of prints of her late great-grandparents’ home, where each image ranges from different levels of color and detail. Sharma said that her interest in prints was rooted in their ability to be recreated. “I find it interesting, the idea of replicating something that no longer exists, but you can replicate it in multitudes,” she said.

Coming from a high school with a small arts department, Sharma did not intend to go into the arts in college. “I was honestly thinking about the science or econ pathway, but I was like, maybe I’ll take a couple of art history courses for fun,” she said.

After taking her first art course, her passion for art was reignited. “I took my initial arts course, and I was like, ‘Oh, this is so cool.’ Then I took another course in my spring semester, and I was like… ‘Okay, I think I might make this the pathway that I’m gonna go down in college.’” Now, she’s hooked: She hopes to major in studio art and ultimately become an art teacher.

As the exhibit navigated different aspects of Sharma’s cultural identity and family history, the recurring motifs tied it together. Sharma’s works not only express ideas of divine femininity, but also feminine resilience and togetherness. This focus extended beyond the gallery, where she sold small prints as part of the exhibit to raise money for the Berkshire Immigrant Center. “We’re all connected,” she said. “We’re all together, especially during these times. We’re all one. And that’s why, as a part of my exhibit, I was selling little prints for [the Berkshire Immigrant Center].”