Artist Paresh Maity on exploring diverse landscapes in his new exhibition
Paresh Maity's solo "Luminous Terrains" brings together his impressions of the diverse geographies across India and the world that have inspired him
Paresh Maity by Paresh Maity (Art Alive gallery) Born in Tamluk, West Bengal, a town nestled close to Bay of Bengal, Paresh Maity decided at the age of seven that he wanted to pursue this path. Not much later, he began understanding how light plays a vital role in art and travel thereby became a quest to learn about the play of light in different landscapes, to discover different cities, colours and architecture. “I draw and paint wherever I go. I don’t travel without my brushes. When you paint directly in front of the landscape, something transformative occurs. There is a direct dialogue between you and nature. It is, after all, how Impressionism emerged — with artists painting outdoors, responding to the changing light,” says Maity, 61.
The Sacred Confluence by Paresh Maity (Art Alive gallery)
Over four decades, that objective has taken the Delhi-based artist across India and the world, from the ghats of Varanasi to the desert of Rajasthan, the canals of Venice, the shikaras of Dal Lake, and most recently, the savannas of Africa’s Masai Mara. His solo “Luminous Terrains”, presented by Art Alive Gallery at Bikaner House in Delhi which closes on March 10, brings together his impressions of these diverse geographies.
Every trip though still remains a journey of discovery and is rooted in observation. “I read about the history and culture of a place before going to a new destination but beyond that I prefer discovering things on my own. Every place I visit always gives me something new. I don’t look for the subject and believe the subject is looking for me,” he says.
Varanasi by Paresh Maity (Art Alive gallery)
The love for nature too, he believes, began in his childhood, which was spent surrounded by green fields, water, open skies, and occasional trips to Darjeeling and the beach towns on the Odisha coast. “In modern times, people are moving away from nature, but to me nature is everything,” says Maity, recalling his four-hour, 200-km journey for six years from Tamluk to Kolkata, when he was studying art at Government College of Art & Craft. “I did not have the money to stay in Kolkata, but when I look back, those were exciting times and I discovered so much,” he says.
Across TerrainsVaranasi: I must have gone there over a 100 times since I first visited in the ’90s. I remember being mesmerised by the ghats but each visit still feels like it is the first. The light shifts every hour, from a luminous dawn to molten dusk. There is a sense of timelessness, where both life and death coexist. The best way to discover the city is by walking in the gallis. Advertisement Rajasthan: Rajasthan is about expansiveness, every colour stands in contrast against the muted sand. I remember being stunned by its landscape the first time I visited Ajmer in 1990. It’s not just the cities, every village of Rajasthan is poetic. One could spend hours just studying the fading murals in Shekhawati’s havelis. Venice: As an art student, I had read so much about Venice and how it had enamoured the Renaissance masters that when I went to the UK on a scholarship in the early ’90s, I saved every pound to travel there. It literally feels like stepping into a painting, with its labyrinthine canals and historic piazzas. Kashmir: It is called heaven on earth for a reason and nothing can truly match the beauty of the Dal Lake with gliding shikaras, set against those mountains and chinar trees. |
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