A SOLO EXHIBITION ACROSS 4 CITIES |DELHI – MUMBAI – KOLKATA – BANGALORE
‘Infinite Light’, a major and multi-genre upcoming exhibition of the work of the renowned artist Paresh Maity, is a show of the kind that, neither in scale nor grandeur, has India witnessed before. With the show opening in the country’s capital on the 5th of November, 2022 at Bikaner House, sculptures and Installation from this body of work will also be showcased at the India Habitat Center from the 11th of November onward. Brought together by four (4) galleries representing the artist, the exhibition is spread over a period of five (5) months, across the four (4) metro cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bangalore, and brings together the various art forms that Paresh has explored during his artistic journey. The vast repertoire of artworks on display span a time frame from the 1990’s to his most recent creations, each one bearing his signature strength and mastery over medium and colour, combining elements of paintings, large scale installations, sculpture, theatre and soundscape.
Exhibition Curatorial Advisor Ranjit Hoskote says “Paresh Maity’s art embodies a deep fascination with light as a shaping power, with colour as a ground of being, and with the human being as witness and participant in epic-scale cosmic dramas. This exhibition maps his investment in painting, drawing, sculpture and installation, as well as his quiet and lifelong preoccupation with ceramics. In each of these forms, Maity translates into aesthetic propositions his memories of landscape and riverscape, the sensations he has absorbed during his journeys across India and the world, and his ceaseless excitement in the face of the world’s changing moods and seasons.”
The artist has been working tirelessly to realize this project, and he (Paresh Maity) says: “This exhibition is a culmination of years of quest, seeking to capture the essence of nature. The most important inspiration in my work is nature. It is nature that makes me want to paint. As an artist I observe, perceive and imagine – an image forms itself which I then express on canvas.
Impulse is always there, it is inherent, when I paint I try to express that inner essence and depict that onto my artwork. After all, I am deep down a spiritual person. It is the spirit that drives me and my work. In life while we try to capture what we see, we also keep changing our way of seeing changes. The way I looked at a landscape 30 years ago is not what I see now. A foundation of minimalist moods has entered my approach, it dictates what I translate onto the canvas or the paper. I am enamoured by the magic of light. I live every day of life just absorbing and understanding light for its qualities of magic and caprice. Colour helps to express light, not the physical phenomenon. It is not easy to capture it. Sometimes I feel as I am chasing it, it has gone. This elusive quality compels me to study it closer. You can see this play of light in almost all my works. Even in abstraction you can see the play of luminosity. My journey has led me, not only to the discovery of the chiaroscuro of light and shade, but also to an inner tranquility – a quiet glow which I hope will act as a beacon of light to guide me on my journey in the years to come.”
Honoured with the Padma Shri by the Government of India, Paresh has held more than eighty (80) solo exhibitions of his work across the globe in the course of his career. His works have been acquired by major institutions including the British Museum, London, the Rubin Museum of Art, New York, the National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi, and the Birla Academy of Art and Culture, Kolkata. Several books have been published on his art. Among his public art is a monumental painting at Terminal 3, Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi, one of the longest paintings in the world.
About The Show:
ART ALIVE GALLERY | DELHI |Bikaner House: Center for Contemporary Art & Living Traditions Center – 5th – 18th November, 2022 | India Habitat Center: Visual Arts Gallery & IHC Atrium – 12th- 25th November, 2022 | Art Alive Gallery: 1st December – 10th January, 2023
ART MUSINGS | MUMBAI | Snow Ball Studio – 3rd December 2022 – 10th January 2023 | Jehangir Art Gallery- 8th – 13th December, 2022 | Art Musings – 14th – 31st December, 2022
CIMA | KOLKATA | Centre of International Modern Art – 12th December, 2022
GALLERY SUMUKHA | BENGALURU | Gallery Sumukha – 4th Feb, 2023
Spanning nearly four decades of his artistic oeuvre, he has created and explored various mediums in art including watercolour, oil and acrylic paintings, mixed media, sculptures and photography.
The elaborate visual language of Paresh Maity traverses through the various emotions and experiences the artist has garnered over the years, right from the spiritual Ghats of Benaras to the tranquil lagoons of Venice, the colours of the Indian landscape to the grandeur and celebration of Indian festivals, Maity has explored it all through his vivid artworks spread across various mediums:
DRAWINGS:
Paresh Maity has mapped geographies across the globe capturing it on his canvas, from cities to hamlets, countries to continents and records his impressions in what has become a visual diary of his painterly life.
PAINTINGS:
Paresh Maity’s artwork always mesmerizes viewers through their vibrant colours and rich textural quality.
CERAMICS:
Expanding the versatile nature of his art, the artist brings to you unique ceramics, rendered in his signature style carrying motifs throughout.
SCULPTURES:
His sculptures are characterized by rich colours and textures, and are characterized by a dynamic quality; the sculptures take shape as they bring to life bold characters represented metaphorically through visual symbols.
WATERCOLOURS:
Paresh Maity started doing watercolours at the age of ten and has been doing it over forty years. Mastering the art of handling watercolour, his passion for the medium and experiment with the same has led him to winning many recognitions for his watercolours nationally and internationally.
INSTALLATION:
Paresh Maity’s artworks and installations always mesmerizes viewers through their vibrancy and rich conceptual depth.
FILM:
The show will feature 4 films conceptualized and directed by Paresh Maity:
In Search of Tranquility, based on the distinct beauty of Varanasi, Enduring Forms, where the artist molds images from his vibrant visual language into forms, A Search Within, where he explores his creations on textile and Glazed Lines, a film on Paresh Maity’s exploration with Ceramics.
About the Galleries:
The 4 galleries who are presenting the exhibition have worked with Maity over a period of time, and have collaborated with him on a number of exhibitions. Their involvement in this project celebrates their ongoing commitment to Maity’s art, and his commitment to them as fellow travellers on his expansive journey.
ART ALIVE GALLERY – THE DELHI CHAPTER
“We are extremely excited to present Infinite Light, a four city solo presentation by Paresh Maity which will preview in Delhi in November, 2022. This will be the first-ever exhibition of this magnitude to be seen by the audience which will spread across several venues in the locations of Bikaner House and India Habitat Centre. Infinite Light attempts to capture the essence of Paresh Maity’s artistic practice – the diverse materiality, the spiritual experiences garnered by his countless travels and his experiments with light, texture and forms. This exhibition will showcase the distinctive aesthetic of the artist’s oeuvre created over three decades and spread over various mediums – oil, watercolours, mixed media, ceramics, textile and installation. Art Alive will celebrate this exceptional body of work through many programs such as curated walkthroughs, meet the artist sessions, workshops and much more.”
Sunaina Anand (Gallery Director)
ART MUSINGS – THE MUMBAI CHAPTER
“Paresh Maity and Art Musings share an amazing journey spanning over three decades – a gallery-artist bond that goes beyond the boundaries that define it, to a relationship cemented in deep trust and warm friendship. Working with him on this mammoth exhibition has been truly exciting. The works on exhibit span 3 decades, as well as recent artworks which display a shift; a touch of abstraction has come into his art, the paintings are more conceptual and engage the viewer to draw their own narrative. In this latest series, Paresh has drawn from a wide range of experiences and travels, from influences of literature, film and history, and there is a new dimension in these densely layered artworks. Paresh is at a stage in his journey where he is able to be fearlessly experimental. It has been interesting to see his evolution; carrying the essence of his past with his vision firmly fixed on the future.”
Sangeeta Raghavan (Gallery Director)
CIMA – THE KOLKATA CHAPTER
“Infinite Light” is predominantly an overview of and insight into Paresh Maity’s profound ties with Varanasi, his city of love. It is about the artist’s search for the inner truth of life and Varanasi emerges as his metaphorical protagonist.
Light is the essence of life; so is darkness. One exists for the other. They are inseparable. In Infinite Light, Paresh Maity makes the subtle interplay of illumination and darkness the core premise of his art. Many of his works here border on magic realism where life, time, memory, space and form merge creating a mesmeric after-feel. Paresh veers us through the infinite shadows hidden within the winding lanes of Varanasi; he throws light on the ageless cracks and crevices of life itself, rendering a subtext that is mystical, magical and eternally mysterious.
The Kolkata chapter features paintings in oil and acrylic, watercolours, sculptures, ceramics and drawings covering almost three decades of Paresh Maity’s creative oeuvre. Several of the works pay deep homage to western modernist forms, evolving gradually to minimalist and abstract ideas and compositions”
Rakhi Sarkar (Gallery Director)
GALLERY SUMUKHA – THE BANGALORE CHAPTER
“My association with Paresh Maity goes back several decades. I have also known him to draw inspiration and ideas for his work from everything – whether it is the life around him, nature, culture or people. His wide travels have had a profound effect on his work. I have seen him move from figuration to abstraction to landscapes, and adopt different mediums – watercolours, oils, sculpture, photography, installation – and has excelled at all of them. If there’s one thing that’s clear from even a cursory glance at his work, it is his fascination with the play of light, especially at dawn and dusk. This is evident in almost all the series he’s produced. Warm colours, stark contrasts and a sense of magic that his works convey form an abiding and enduring part of his allure.”
Premilla Baid (Gallery Director)
