Monika Sharda Explore Mondoir Studio Nationality: Indian Born: 1977 Artistic discipline: Acrylics and Multimedia on canvas Based in: Jaipur, IN BiographyMonika Sharda (b. 1977, Pali, Rajasthan, India) is a contemporary visual artist whose practice explores abstraction, materiality, memory, and inner stillness. Working primarily with acrylics and mixed media on canvas, she creates layered surfaces and textured compositions that move between concealment and revelation. Her ongoing artistic inquiry, Sukoon , reflects a search for quietude and a deeper relationship between material, memory, and consciousness. Sharda holds a Master’s degree in Drawing and Painting from Rajasthan University, Jaipur, and a three-year Diploma in Commercial Arts from the Board of Technical Education, Jodhpur. Her work has been exhibited in India and internationally, including World Art Dubai and exhibitions in Japan. She received the 63rd Annual State Award for Sculpture from Lalit Kala Akademi Rajasthan in 2022, among other recognitions. Her practice brings together personal reflection, cultural references, and material experimentation to create immersive surfaces that invite sustained contemplation. Artist StatementMy visual practice treats texture as a carrier of memory. I work through accumulation: layer follows layer, a surface is built, interrupted, partially veiled, and revealed again. Through acrylics, mixed media, and relief-like textures, painting becomes a slow, meditative act in which the material itself participates in the meaning of the work. The concept of Sukoon a state of inner stillness forms the centre of my practice. I draw upon abstract forms, mythological references, symbolic fragments, and personal memories, not as fixed narratives but as open-ended elements that invite individual interpretation. I am interested in how a surface can hold traces of time and experience while remaining open to new readings. For me, silence is not an absence but a space of possibility. Through layered compositions, I seek to create moments in which viewers can slow down, look beyond the immediate image, and encounter their own associations with memory, place, and the self. ExhibitionsSelected Solo Exhibitions * Sukoon, ITC Rajputana, Jaipur, India -September 2024; curated by Johny ML * World Art Dubai, UAE -2025 * Bikaner House, New Delhi, India -2026; curated by Johny ML Selected Group Exhibitions * Female Art Campus, Pushkar, India -2022 * Academy of International Arts, 1st International Art Exhibition, Nagoya, Japan -2000 * Foreign Artists Exhibition, Nagoya, Japan -1999, 2000 Awards63rd Annual State Award for Sculpture, Lalit Kala Akademi Rajasthan -2022 Kala Charcha Award -2022 Two Work Selection, Lalit Kala Akademi Rajasthan -2021 Prasad Memorial Trust Award -2019 Amrita Sher-Gill Award -2018 EducationMaster’s in Drawing and Painting - Rajasthan University, Jaipur, India (2012–2013) Three-Year Diploma in Commercial Arts - Board of Technical Education, Jodhpur, India (1995–1997) Bachelor of Commerce - J.N.V. University, Jodhpur, India (1994–1996)
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