From Corporate Career to Conscious Art: Gunjan Sharma’s Journey with Kriya Art Studio
A wall is no longer just a wall waiting to be filled. Increasingly, people want their homes to reflect who they are, what they believe in, and how they want to feel β and at the centre of that shift is Gunjan Sharma, founder of Kriya Art Studio, a contemporary Indian art label built around handmade, Vastu-aligned artworks that blend beauty with symbolism and intention.
Choosing to Begin Again
Gunjan’s professional life began far from the art world. A Computer Science graduate from Manipal Institute of Technology, she spent three years in software before moving into data science, eventually building a ten-year career in fintech.
It was a strong, well-paying career. But underneath it sat a quieter ambition β to build something entirely her own. That ambition found its push through motherhood. As her two daughters grew, Gunjan began imagining a different kind of legacy, one built as much for herself as for them.
“I wanted my daughters to grow up knowing that a woman can choose her own path,” she says. “If you put your heart into something and are willing to work for it, you can build something on your own terms.”
She had always painted, but it turned serious around 2023. Kriya Art Studio launched formally in mid-2025, with its first paid commission that October. By year’s end, the passion project had visibly become a viable business.
The Meaning Behind the Name
The name Kriya comes from Gunjan’s two daughters, Krisha and Arya, merged together β and it also carries a broader meaning, referring to action, movement and energy in motion.
“Kriya came from my daughters, but it also represented something much bigger for me,” she explains. “It represents taking action and energy in motion β and that’s ultimately what I believe art is about: the intention, energy and emotion that go into creating something, and the feeling it brings into a space.”
The brand found momentum quickly. Kriya has since sold more than 200 artworks, including over 30 custom and commissioned pieces, reaching upward of 20 cities in India as well as international clients in New York, Sydney and Ireland, with some commissions as large as 4 x 5 feet.
Art Meant to Be Felt, Not Just Displayed
For Gunjan, the gap between handmade art and mass-produced dΓ©cor isn’t only about craft β it’s about intention. A printed reproduction can capture an image, but it can’t carry the same brushwork, texture or personal energy as an original piece.
“I don’t want my paintings to simply fill their walls,” she says. “I want them to bring balance and a shift in the energy of the home. It shouldn’t be just another dΓ©cor piece β it should be something they relate to.”
This extends to how she views Indian art itself, which she doesn’t believe needs to be traditional or hyper-realistic to resonate. “It can also look contemporary or abstract and still make you feel connected,” she notes.
That belief takes shape in Kriya’s Ishanya Collection, which explores the bond between the soul and whatever gives a person purpose β faith, dance, music, yoga or meditation β aiming for art people feel personally tied to, rather than simply decorative.
Vastu Art as a Growing Focus
While Kriya’s identity stretches beyond Vastu alone, Vastu-aligned art has emerged as one of its signature strengths. With more Indian homeowners factoring Vastu into home design, Gunjan saw an opening to merge aesthetics with symbolic and spatial meaning β a non-structural way for people to align their spaces with these principles.
The studio’s Vastu collection draws on motifs tied to prosperity, strength, calm and positive movement β from seven running horses and Kamdhenu to lotus flowers, Buddha figures, golden stags and koi fish β each rendered in Kriya’s contemporary style and customisable to a client’s colours, dimensions and needs.
When Art Becomes Personal
One memorable commission came from a client who discovered Gunjan’s work through a friend and was moving into a home named “Vrindavan.” She wanted the very first thing visitors saw before stepping inside to capture that name’s spirit. Gunjan created a custom piece for the space above the home’s nameplate β the client loved it so much they returned for several more commissions across the home’s interiors.
Looking Beyond the Second Career
For Gunjan, Kriya has grown into something larger than a career pivot. She envisions building it into a leading name in Vastu-inspired art while carrying contemporary Indian art to audiences well beyond the country’s borders β introducing Indian symbolism, artistic thought and craftsmanship to modern homes globally.
What began with one woman questioning whether she could build something of her own has already grown into hundreds of artworks, custom commissions, international shipments, and a distinct identity within India’s art and dΓ©cor landscape.
Yet for Gunjan, the purpose has stayed simple. Art shouldn’t just occupy space.
It should have a reason to be there.
And that, perhaps, is what Kriya represents at its core β turning intention, creativity and energy into something people can genuinely live with.
