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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

4 min readFeb 28, 2026 06:00 AM IST

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 Terrains

Varanasi: 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.

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.

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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.

Vandana Kalra

Vandana Kalra is an art critic and Deputy Associate Editor with The Indian Express. She has spent more than two decades chronicling arts, culture and everyday life, with modern and contemporary art at the heart of her practice. With a sustained engagement in the arts and a deep understanding of India’s cultural ecosystem, she is regarded as a distinctive and authoritative voice in contemporary art journalism in India. Vandana Kalra's career has unfolded in step with the shifting contours of India’s cultural landscape, from the rise of the Indian art market to the growing prominence of global biennales and fairs. Closely tracking its ebbs and surges, she reports from studios, galleries, museums and exhibition spaces and has covered major Indian and international art fairs, museum exhibitions and biennales, including the Venice Biennale, Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Documenta, Islamic Arts Biennale. She has also been invited to cover landmark moments in modern Indian art, including SH Raza’s exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris and the opening of the MF Husain Museum in Doha, reflecting her long engagement with the legacies of India’s modern masters. Alongside her writing, she applies a keen editorial sensibility, shaping and editing art and cultural coverage into informed, cohesive narratives. Through incisive features, interviews and critical reviews, she brings clarity to complex artistic conversations, foregrounding questions of process, patronage, craft, identity and cultural memory. The Global Art Circuit: She provides extensive coverage of major events like the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, Serendipity Arts Festival, and high-profile international auctions. Artist Spotlights: She writes in-depth features on modern masters (like M.F. Husain) and contemporary performance artists (like Marina Abramović). Art and Labor: A recurring theme in her writing is how art reflects the lives of the marginalized, including migrants, farmers, and labourers. Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) Her recent portfolio is dominated by the coverage of the 2025 art season in India: 1. Kochi-Muziris Biennale & Serendipity Arts Festival "At Serendipity Arts Festival, a 'Shark Tank' of sorts for art and crafts startups" (Dec 20, 2025): On how a new incubator is helping artisans pitch products to investors. "Artist Birender Yadav's work gives voice to the migrant self" (Dec 17, 2025): A profile of an artist whose decade-long practice focuses on brick kiln workers. "At Kochi-Muziris Biennale, a farmer’s son from Patiala uses his art to draw attention to Delhi’s polluted air" (Dec 16, 2025). "Kochi Biennale showstopper Marina Abramović, a pioneer in performance art" (Dec 7, 2025): An interview with the world-renowned artist on the power of reinvention. 2. M.F. Husain & Modernism "Inside the new MF Husain Museum in Qatar" (Nov 29, 2025): A three-part series on the opening of Lawh Wa Qalam in Doha, exploring how a 2008 sketch became the architectural core of the museum. "Doha opens Lawh Wa Qalam: Celebrating the modernist's global legacy" (Nov 29, 2025). 3. Art Market & Records "Frida Kahlo sets record for the most expensive work by a female artist" (Nov 21, 2025): On Kahlo's canvas The Dream (The Bed) selling for $54.7 million. "All you need to know about Klimt’s canvas that is now the most expensive modern artwork" (Nov 19, 2025). "What’s special about a $12.1 million gold toilet?" (Nov 19, 2025): A quirky look at a flushable 18-karat gold artwork. 4. Art Education & History "Art as play: How process-driven activities are changing the way children learn art in India" (Nov 23, 2025). "A glimpse of Goa's layered history at Serendipity Arts Festival" (Dec 9, 2025): Exploring historical landmarks as venues for contemporary art. Signature Beats Vandana is known for her investigative approach to the art economy, having recently written about "Who funds the Kochi-Muziris Biennale?" (Dec 11, 2025), detailing the role of "Platinum Benefactors." She also explores the spiritual and geometric aspects of art, as seen in her retrospective on artist Akkitham Narayanan and the history of the Cholamandal Artists' Village (Nov 22, 2025). ... Read More

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