The core of her new aesthetic lies in a technique she calls "digital palimpsest." Viewing her works—whether on a gallery wall via a high-res projection or through a phone screen in one’s living room—one sees layers of data: faint, ghosted screenshots of WhatsApp conversations, pixelated glitches from corrupted video files, and the ghostly outlines of social media interfaces. Over these digital ghosts, Sharma paints or draws using bold, almost violent strokes of physical media—charcoal, oil pastels, and even smudged coffee—which she then scans and re-integrates. The result is a visual tension between the cold, perfect grid of the digital and the warm, chaotic bleed of the analog.
The art world has taken notice. Preview snippets of the series shared on social media have already sparked a frenzy among collectors, with several pieces reportedly sold via pre-sale before the official gallery opening. riya sharma, artist, latest
The standout piece of the collection, titled The Echo of Light , showcases Sharma’s evolving technique. She has moved away from heavy impasto oils in favor of a difficult, translucent layering method using water-mixable oils and ink. The core of her new aesthetic lies in
"The latest work is about what we leave behind," Sharma explains. "I wanted the canvas to look like it was breathing. I wanted the viewer to see the history of the brushstrokes underneath the final layer, just like we see the history of a person when we look into their eyes." The art world has taken notice
: In early 2026, she debuted her first ceiling-wall-floor fiber installation titled I see you in me , which uses layered blue threads to evoke childhood memories and the California coast. The Visual Storyteller: Photography and Digital Art
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