Paresh Maity loves to travel. In the forests of Odisha, the Bengal coast, the waters of Venice, the slopes of Shimla, the edge of sea in Fort Kochi and the towering forts of Rajasthan, as long as he soaks in the atmosphere to transport the multiple layers of reality onto the canvas. Sometimes it is 30 trips to Bikaner or countless times to Varanasi and Venice. It’s not surprising then that he wanted to present his three-decade-long journey as an artist in a series of exhibitions. For art lovers to travel the creative path he walked.
Infinite Light, a retrospective of Maity that opened at the Bikaner House in Delhi, assembles a thumping 450 works in four cities (Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru) involving four galleries and spanning five months. There are paintings, sculptures, films, installations and ceramics mounted on walls, pitched in courtyards and rooted in sprawling lawns. The first show at the Bikaner House (November 5-18) alone has 150 works. Each show promises to be distinct with separate works, except for a few large works that will be travelling.
“Light is life,” says Maity, explaining the title of the exhibition in collaboration with Delhi’s Art Live Gallery. “Without light there is nothing in this world. It is an essential part of anything and everything.” Light, which the impressionists brought as a new language of art in the 19th century, shines through Maity’s paintings which are illuminating insights into the oddity and banality of the world. “I try to capture the deeper essence in the minimalist way,” he says with an air of unpretentiousness that marks his life and legacy.
Paintings of perpetuity
While Maity’s philosophy of art is minimalist, the scale of many of his works is anything but. An arresting painting of Varanasi portraying the ancient city’s signature motifs of the Ganges and the ghats sets the stage for a stunning spectacle of contemporary art. Titled Nirvana and completed this year, the 45-foot-long oil and acrylic is the biggest single work in the retrospective. Rising hot air balloons cohabit with the city’s beguiling buildings and floating diyas. The artist succinctly merges the festive spirits of Varanasi’s Dev Deepawali and its energy and serenity into a giant oracle of togetherness. “You can’t even spend your whole life discovering this city,” says Maity.
Also Read: Bengaluru up in arms
Born in Tamluk town, about 100 km from Kolkata near the Bay of Bengal, Maity was drawn to the world of art as a seven-year-old gazing at artisans making idols for Durga Puja. “I was mesmerised,” recalls Maity about giant statues materialising in front of him. “I had no clue what art is. I come from a very poor family. It was a struggle for existence then.” His hometown, with its own ancient history associated with the Gupta dynasty and the Maurya empire dating to 4th century BC and a visit by the 7th century Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang, prodded him into an inquisitive individual and a compulsive traveller. Tamluk also boasted a curious relationship with terracotta, artworks of which can be viewed on panels on the walls of the town’s Bargabhima temple.
Collection of ceramic
As he journeyed into the corners of the world, Maity created connections with places. One such was Maihar, a pilgrimage town in Madhya Pradesh, known as the mecca of Indian classical music. The town was home to Ustad Allauddin Khan, the guru of Pandit Ravi Shankar. “I have been going to Maihar for the last 24 years,” says the artist, who created ceramic after every morning walk there. Five of those ceramic works (there will be 15 ceramic works in the entire series) are part of the exhibition at Bikaner House.
It is the first time the artist has unveiled his collection of ceramic. “My germination as an artist was playing with clay as a seven-year-old,” reiterates Maity. Ceramic IV, one of the five ceramic works in the Delhi show, reflects the influence European artists like Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí had on Maity. The work shows a human face with a side of moustache pointed upwards.
“I visited the Picasso Museum in Barcelona while studying for MFA and saw ceramic there,” says Maity.
Maity, who studied BFA at the Government College of Art and Craft, Kolkata, came to Delhi 32 years back to join the College of Art for his MFA. He went on to make the city his home. In reality though, Maity has been in search of the meaning of home in his meanderings across the world.
“First I painted abstracts,” he says about the beginning of his career. “Then I made forms.” His series of works, titled Shimla, using the impasto technique of heavy paint, conveys the feeling of hills and slopes in an abstract manner.
Master of watercolours
“I always carry sketchbooks. It is my diary,” says Maity about his habit of painting on the spot. That habit earned him the sobriquet of Turner of India, after the 18th century English artist William Turner who painted watercolours and landscapes inspired by his many travels. Maity’s watercolours, which won him praise from art critics and connoisseurs, fill up the exhibition. One of them is Lagoon (2012), based on images he stretched while wandering in Venice. “It is a romantic city, an energetic place for any writer, photographer or artist. There is magic,” he says about the Italian lagoon.
Maity, who sat and sketched in Santiniketan, South of France and Kerala, deliberately chose watercolours to start the exhibition he conceptualised many years ago. “Watercolour is the most difficult medium in the world. You can’t rectify it once painted. And to do big watercolours (like the artist’s) is a huge challenge. You can rarely see such big watercolours. Very few artists in the world do it,” says Maity, who painted watercolours on rains in India, Japan, Mexico and England.
Faizal Khan is a freelancer
INFINITE SHOW
Delhi
Bikaner House: Center for Contemporary Art & Living Traditions Centre,
Nov 5-18
India Habitat Centre, Visual Arts Gallery & IHC Atrium,
Nov 12-25
Art Alive Gallery,
Dec 1- Jan 10, 2023
Mumbai
Snow Ball Studio, Dec 3-Jan 10, 2023
Jehangir Art Gallery, Dec 8-13; Art Musings, Dec 14-31
Kolkata
Centre of International Modern Art, Dec 12
Bengaluru
Gallery Sumukha, Feb 4, 2023
