Paresh Maity returns to Delhi with a new solo show

A sweeping journey through landscapes across India and Europe takes centre stage as renowned contemporary artist Paresh Maity unveils his latest solo exhibition Luminous Terrains. Presented by Art Alive Gallery, the show opened with a preview and book launch on February 28 at the Centre for Contemporary Art, Bikaner House and will remain on view until March 10.

The exhibition marks Maity’s return to the venue following the success of his 2022 show Infinite Light, and brings together a vibrant body of new works inspired by his travels through India, Venice and France. Through a suite of oils, acrylics and drawings, the artist explores the ecological and cultural diversity of landscapes , from the serenity of Dal Lake in Srinagar and the ghats of Varanasi to the luminous lagoons of Venice and the sunlit coasts of the French Riviera. For Maity, travel and nature remain deeply intertwined with his artistic practice. The exhibition unfolds almost like a visual diary, shaped by decades of movement across places and experiences. “For me, nature is represented through my landscapes,” says the artist. “I keep going back to places again and again to gain a deeper understanding - a deeper philosophy of nature captured through light and colour, which changes not just by the hour but by the minute.

Even after five decades of painting landscapes, they continue to evolve.” The show also captures varied terrains across India, including the deserts of Rajasthan, the rugged landscape of Madhya Pradesh and the spiritual energy surrounding the Mahakumbh, translating each into layered compositions of colour and light. Writer and curator Kishore Singh notes that the works subtly engage with the legacy of European masters while remaining rooted in Maity’s own sensibility.

“In this exhibition, Paresh pays ode to artists like Claude Monet, Edouard Manet, Vincent van Gogh, Pierre‑Auguste Renoir and Camille Pissarro - not borrowing from them, but building on their foundations to offer an Indian interpretation of light and colour,” he writes.

“The light in his Venice and South of France paintings is milder and almost translucent, while the Indian landscapes carry a stronger intensity, filtered through dust and atmosphere.” For the gallery, the exhibition arrives at a milestone moment. Founded in 2001 by Sunaina Anand, Art Alive Gallery completes 25 years in 2026 - a journey that has helped shape conversations around contemporary Indian art through exhibitions, artist talks, publications and collaborations. “Paresh translates what he absorbs , light, movement, colour and silence , into a visual language that is instinctive and unmistakably his own,” says Anand. “Luminous Terrains is both a celebration of an artist’s journey and a moment of reflection for the gallery as we mark 25 years in the art fraternity.” Alongside the exhibition, the gallery also launched a new publication on Maity’s work featuring essays by noted art historian Partha Mitter and Singh, offering critical perspectives on the artist’s evolving engagement with landscape and light. With canvases that move between geography and emotion, Luminous Terrains invites viewers to experience landscapes not just as places, but as moments of memory, movement and shifting light - a reminder of how travel, time and nature continue to shape an artist’s gaze.