A renowned artist from Jammu, Dr Milan Sharma, has embarked on a selfless journey in the field of art for the past more than twenty five years to keep alive and add new dimensions to the ‘Semi Realistic Painting/Art’ also called ‘modern painting art’.
A winner of several national and international awards, Dr Milan’s paintings are marked in the expressionist style of expressions in bold brush strokes but with distinctive harmonious colour schemes.
Dr Milan Sharma’s art works have been displayed at many national and international events and workshops while she has many prestigious awards to her credit.
According to her, ‘Semi Realistic Painting ’ is an altogether different kind of painting or art work than ‘Realistic Painting’. In ‘Realistic Painting’ one has to do the painting (paint work) of the person or object seen in front of him/her.
She says that the ‘Semi Realistic Painting/Art’ is different and unique art work i.e paint work. The ‘Semi Realistic Painting’ is completely a creative art work and the painter has to imagine (visualise) beyond what is seen in front of him/her.
A ‘Semi Realism’ or ‘Semi Realistic Art work’ is an art form that seeks to combine realistic and stylized depictions of a living being or a scene, Milan said
“In Semi Realistic Painting you have to distort and visualise what is in front of you and do the paint work as per your thinking,” Milan Sharma told Rising Kashmir.
However, the important aspect of being a Semi Realistic artist is that you must first be a Realistic artist . “I practiced and learned Realistic Painting for seven years,” Milan Sharma said.
She is presently, Incharge, Head of Department (HoD) of Painting and Art History, Institute of Music and Fine Arts (IMFA), University of Jammu (JU).
Milan Sharma has set up a workshop near her home at Sanjay Nagar, Jammu, where she does her art work on daily basis to popularize the ‘Semi Realistic Painting/art work’
Dr Milan says, ” There are different topics and issues you can highlight through Semi Realistic Painting/Art work. Milan Sharma, the Semi Realistic artist/painter from Jammu has been doing her art work/painting work on feminine feelings i.e feelings concerning women.”
“I want to highlight and bring out the hidden feelings of women that often go unnoticed in contemporary life and find no place in our day to day life,” she said.
“Prior to 1947, the miniature art/painting work was being practiced in J&K like the Basholi Paintings. However, after 1947 the miniature art started to decline and Realistic Art/Painting was opted by the artists across India and was at its peak after 1947,” she said.
“Renowned artists like Rabinder Nath Tagore and many others practiced Realistic Painting/Art,” Dr Milan further said.
Pertinently, there was an Art Movement after 1947 and artists across India started practicing Semi Realistic Painting/Art. During this Art Movement, 2 colleges were set up in J&K by Jammu Kashmir Academy of Art Culture and Languages (JKAACL), one each in Jammu and Kashmir.
She said that her family provided her with immense support during her journey even from her school days. The environment in her home was also of that sort. “My father Indu Bhushan Sharma used to do photography and also published books of many writers of J&K,” she said adding, “I was not able to focus on a particular field but deep inside I had an inclination towards artistic works like painting”.
“My family inspired and supported me to take up painting work and finally I entered the art world,” she said. Dr Milan holds a doctorate in Visual Arts, from Delhi University, New Delhi. She has also done a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Painting from Delhi College of Arts, New Delhi. She has done Bachelor in Fine Arts (BFA) in Painting from Institute of Music and Fine Arts (IMFA), Jammu. She is now HOD in the same college.
The Semi Realistic Artist from Jammu, Dr Milan Sharma, has been awarded with several National Scholarships (Painting) from the Ministry of Human Resource and Development, Govt of India (GoI) in 2000-02. She has also won first prize in the ‘On the Spot Painting Competition organised by JKAACL in 1996.
Milan Sharma has also won the prestigious Prafulla Dahanukar Art Foundation Award in 2019 besides getting a merit scholarship from the College of Art, New Delhi in 2000-02.
She also has a Merit Certificate in State Annual Art Exhibition from JKAACL.
Dr Milan has participated in the International Workshop with Sri Lankan children organised by First Art Foundation at Candy, Sri Lanka in 2017. Milan Sharma is also the only artist from J&K to participate in a group show in MF Hussain Gallery, Jamia Millia Islamia University, Delhi, in 2009.
She has also participated in the South Asian Women Exhibition at Kashmir which was organised by SAF. She has also held many national camps. Apart from this, Milan has also held many talk shows like tiffin talks on Jammu and Kashmir, arts’ scene, problems, promise and possibilities.
She has also held 3 talk shows in Hindi and Dogri on Visual Art at Radio Station Jammu in 2006 and 2009.
The Semi Realistic artist/painter has also held camps/workshops of national level at Kala Kendra besides holding International Teacher’s Camp at Bangalore in 2018.
Recently, Dr Milan participated in the prestigious international event in India Art Fair at Delhi last month in which artists from different countries participated and exhibited their work.
” Out of the 120 galleries of different artists from across the world, my painting work was selected among the top six galleries,” she said.
Dr Milan Sharma’s achievements speak volumes about her cutting edge creative work that has set an example of inspiration for many aspiring artists.
