Kiki's London Contemporary Indian Art will hold "The Acme of Art", an exhibition of recent oil paintings and watercolours by Paresh Maity at The Gallery in Cork Street, 28 Cork Street, London W1S 3NG from 25 to 30 April 2005. Entry is free and open to all. The artist will be present during the exhibition.

PARESH MAITY

Paresh Maity was born in 1965, and studied Painting (BFA) at Govt. College of Art and Craft, Kolkata and Painting (MFA), at College of Art, New Delhi. Maity has had a large number of solo exhibitions in India since his first one at the Academy of Fine Arts, Kolkata in 1988. He has also shown a number of time in Europe, such as Gallerie Aspekte, Germany; Galerie Mohanjeet, Paris; Paracelsus Rotenflesdinik Ausgestelet in association with Galerie Aspekte, Germany; and ARKS Gallery in London.

Maity’s works are in the collections of the British Museum, London; National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi; Common Wealth Development Corporation, London and is represented in several private and public collections in India and abroad.

He is the recipient of the Harmony Award, Mumbai (1999); British Council Visitorship (1993); All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society Award for Best Water Colour Painting, New Delhi (1990); Award from Indian Society of Oriental Art (1986) and a Gold Medal from Russia.

Travels are a crucial part of Maity's life, and travels are the life of Maity's art. Every place he lands up at equips him with a new vocabulary. First came the watercolor drawings of the Bengal village that caught the momentary interplay of light and shade and brought simple everyday objects like a bicycle wheel to the forefront. Then came the landscapes, a tiny depiction of a rain swept paddy field to a wall sized evocation of a boat bobbing in the high seas. Soon Maity started breaking lines and redefining structures. These forms became more abstracted. From these abstractions, once again forms emerged but as a significantly restructured reality. Now he is back again to the landscapes that reflect his changing horizons. Maity has transcended the world of landscapes, "to keep pace with the changing times."

Along with these transitions in style, Maity has shown unusual keenness to master mediums as well. He shot into limelight for his creative use of volatile watercolors. He gave up conte for the vibrant reds and pitch-dark blacks. Soon Maity headed for oils and brought a riot of colors with yellows, crimsons and indigos.

Maity lives and works in New Delhi.

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