How India's Turner, Paresh Maity, was brought to art by Bengal's artisans

Maity with his installation on the stairwell of the exhibition's first venue, Bikaner House, Delhi. (Photo: Faizal Khan)

When Paresh Maity began preparing for the biggest show of his life, he stumbled upon a staircase that would go on to guide him in reinterpreting his career as an artist. He started to paint and hang objects that stuck with him in his three-decade-long journey, creating an art installation around the stairwell. It was more than he could have bargained for.

It is the same feeling for art lovers stepping into "Infinite Light", Maity's solo show, which opened at Delhi's Bikaner House last week. A whopping 150 works of art are on display and it doesn't end there. The exhibition, which will travel to three more cities (Mumbai, Kolkata and Bengaluru), would have had a massive 450 works by the time it ends in March next year.

For the first time ever, Maity has shown his ceramic works at an exhibition. (Photo courtesy: Art Alive Gallery)

"It is the biggest solo exhibition by an artist in India," beams Maity about the show he started preparing many years ago. The scale of preparations shows. There are paintings, drawings, films, installations, sculptures and ceramic. It is the first time the artist has displayed his ceramic works. "All the four cities will have different exhibits, except a few large works which will be travelling," says Maity.

'Lagoon' (2012), a large watercolour, is based on the artist's visits to Venice. (Photo courtesy: Art Alive Gallery)

The choice of watercolours to begin the tour of "Infinite Light" comes as no surprise. Maity has been called the "Turner of India" for his mastery over the medium practised by the 18th century English artist William Turner who painted watercolours and landscapes inspired by his many travels. Maity's watercolours, too, have come from his travels, such as Lagoon (2012) based on his several trips to Venice. "You can rarely see such big watercolours. Very few artists in the world do it," says Maity. "Watercolour is the most difficult medium in the world".

Like watercolours, Maity's decision to start his travelling exhibition in Delhi, too, comes from a personal choice. He arrived in the national capital in the late '80s to join the Delhi College of Art for a Master's in Fine Arts programme after completing his Bachelor's in Fine Arts course in Kolkata. He never left. He would often travel to the corners of the world, but always returned to Delhi where he lives. "I came to Delhi 32 years ago," he says. "And I have travelled all over the world and painted on the spot."

Maity was born in West Bengal's Tamluk, a town with a lot of history that rests on the edges of the Bay of Bengal. The seventh century Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang visited Tamluk which had links with the Gupta and Maurya dynasties dating back to 4th century BC. With all the town's ancient history and the terracotta panels on the walls of its famous Bargabhima temple, it was the work of local artisans making huge idols for Durga Puja that drew Maity to the world of art.

"I was seven years old then and mesmerised by the sight of the artisans creating idols for the festival," he recalls. "I had no clue what art was. I come from a very poor family. It was a struggle for existence." Maity carried those memories of artisans working with clay from his childhood, as the ceramics at the exhibition reflect. Fifteen ceramic works are part of "Infinite Light", five at Bikaner House and the rest in other venues. "It is the first time I have unveiled my ceramic works," says Maity.

Wearing his trademark straw hat and a Nehru jacket, Maity narrates the curious case of his new art installation at the first venue of the exhibition. On the first day of mounting the show, the old wooden staircase at the Bikaner House drew his attention, possibly reminding him of how he took the first step in his journey as an artist. "I started painting on the wall along the staircase. At first, they (the building managers) started crying, asking me how can you paint it. Now they are saying, how can you remove it," he smiles. The installation has a painting of a staircase lining the stairwell along with hanging kites and paper boats and even a paper staircase.

'Urbanscape', a 21ft-long bronze sculpture, shows a giant jackfruit to examine the dense nature of urban landscape. (Photo: Faizal Khan)

The industrial scale sculptures in the exhibition are already turning heads. The Pair I, two 20ft-high bronze sculptures, captures the journey of a man and woman symbolising grihastha or family life. "In every civilisation, it is the woman who as the head holds together everything," says the artist. The Pair II, which is part of the travelling exhibition that opens at the India Habitat Centre on November 12, continues the conversation on human relationships. Urbanscape, a 21ft-long bronze sculpture, shows a giant jackfruit to examine the dense nature of urban landscape.

Many of Maity's works are critiques of unsustainable progress that has done irreversible damage to the planet. Golden Shower, another massive brass sculpture, represents an amaltas tree (also called golden shower) with its black-coloured pods, each weighing 15 kg. Cast from an original amaltas tree, the sculpture stresses on the crying need for saving the planet. "Nature has been my influence," says Maity. "Art is an imitation of nature," he adds, quoting Aristotle. "You can't imagine anything without and beyond nature."

The exhibition, which is in collaboration with the eight galleries across Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata, also has a series of paintings based on Maity's many trips to Varanasi. One of them, Nirvana (2022), a 45ft-long oil and acrylic, is the single biggest work in the exhibition. "Art is very spiritual, that is why it enlightens the life of people," says the artist.

Maity's long career, whose ascent coincided with that of Indian contemporary art, analysed correctly that COVID-19 wasn't going to stop its progress. "Art is socio-economic and political. It moves on its own. The world's best art has come out during wars and famine," he says. "Indian art is taking on the world. Every kilometre you travel in the country, you see new art, tribal art and folk art. Indian art is very strong and vibrant today."

Paresh Maity's travelling exhibition, 'Infinite Light', spans four cities, over five months. (Photo: Faizal Khan)

Delhi: Bikaner House, November 5-18 ; India Habitat Centre, November 12-25 ; Art Alive Gallery, December 1-January 10, 2023

Mumbai: Snow Ball Studio, December 3-January 10, 2023 ; Jehangir Art Gallery, December  8-13 ; Art Musings, December 14-31

Kolkata: Centre of International Modern Art, starts on December 12

Bengaluru: Gallery Sumukha, starts on February 4