HOUSTON, May 2, 2014 — Asia Society Texas Center has opened its latest exhibition, Transcendent Deities of India: The Everyday Occurrence of the Divine, on view through September 14, 2014. The exhibition features modern and contemporary representations of Hindu gods and goddesses.

Artworks include photographs by contemporary artist Manjari Sharma, digital and drawn works by Abhishek Singh, and earlier chromolithographs from the Raja Ravi Varma Press, all which preserve tangible connections between worshippers and the objects of their reverence. This is the first time these artists’ works have been presented together in Texas.

Nearly 250 Houstonians attended the opening of the exhibition on May 2, 2014. Anubhav Nath, trustee of the Ramchander Nath Foundation, met with patrons and mingled with the crowd before taking the stage for a short and informal Q&A session with Bridget Bray, the Texas Center's Director of Exhibitions. Nath shared with the audience his enthusiasm to display such works before a new and diverse audience.

Guests were also treated to the best of Houston artistic culture as musicians David Courtney (tabla), Chandrakantha Courtney (sitar), and Samhita Sunya (dilruba) filled the Louisa Stude Sarofim Gallery with reverent ragas, complemented through live dance by Kusum Sharma. Rounding off the night’s culinary offerings were local food staples Taco Nuts and Melange Creperie.