Biography
The renowned artist Paresh Maity was born in the historical town of
Tamluk, close to Kolkata in 1965. After his education at Hamilton High
School, he received his Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Arts from one of the
oldest and most prestigious art colleges in India, Government College of
Arts and Crafts, Kolkata, followed by Master’s Degree in Fine Arts from
the College of Art, New Delhi being the top of his class in both.
Spanning nearly five 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. During the last 40
years, he has held 90 solo exhibitions and his work that includes a
diverse ensemble of landscapes, abstracts, portraits and figures has
been widely exhibited in galleries, museums and art fairs in India and
across the globe. Paresh Maity’s art has been collected by numerous
private collectors across the world and is also present in public
collections such as the Rashtrapati Bhawan (President’s House, India),
the British Museum in London, the Rubin Museum of Art, New York,
National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi and Kiran Nadar Museum of Art
among many others.
In 2010, he completed an approximately 850-foot mural, one of the
longest paintings in the world for the International terminal at
the Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi. In 2024,
five sculptures by the artist, including Sound of Silence, a
sculptural installation made using 4,500 brass bells, has been
installed at the newly expanded Terminal 1 of IGI Airport, Delhi
(2024). Genesis, a sculpture by Paresh Maity was exhibited at
Marinaressa Gardens, Riva dei Sette Martiri, Venice, as part of
his participation in Personal Structures, 2024, a biennial
contemporary art exhibition organized by the European Cultural
Centre during the Venice Biennale.
His iconic sculptural installation, Urbanscape, is on view at Victoria Memorial Hall,
Kolkata as part of the first edition of the Bengal Biennale.
Paresh Maity has also exhibited at the Bihar Biennale, the first
ever museum Biennale in India.
Several books have been published on the works of Paresh Maity; the
recent ones are Infinite Light: Paresh Maity, PARESH MAITY: World of
Watercolours and The World on a Canvas – A Visual Voyage based on the
works inspired by his artistic practice. After M.F. Husain, Maity is the
second artist to be invited by the Kerala Tourism Department, Kerala
Government in 2007 to make his own visual interpretation of Kerala,
which has been documented in the book An Enchanting Journey – Paresh
Maity’s Kerala; published by Art Alive Gallery.
Paresh Maity has been felicitated by various national and international institutions including the Royal Watercolour Society, London, the All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society, British Council, and most recently, Times of India. In 2024, he was conferred with an honourary Doctor of Literature (D.Litt.) degree from Sir Padampat Singhania University, Udaipur. He is recipient of one of the highest civilian awards, the Padma Shri, from the Government of India. His upcoming work includes a solo exhibition at TEFAF Maastricht (2025), widely regarded as the world's premier fair.
Awards
- Gold Medal, USSR, 1983
- Indian Society of Oriental Art, Kolkata, 1985
- Award, Government of West Bengal for Best Water Colour
Painting Award, 1985
- Award, Indian Society of Oriental Art, Kolkata, 1986
- Jamini Roy Birth Centenary Celebration Award, 1987
- Governor's Gold Medal from Academy of Fine Arts,
Kolkata, 1988
- Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Celebration Award,
1988
- National Scholarship Award, Government of India, 1989
- All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society Award for Best
Watercolour Painting, New Delhi, 1990
- Award for Outstanding Painting, Birla Academy of Art and
Culture, Kolkata, 1990
- All India Fine Arts and Craft Society Award for 62nd All
India Art Exhibition, 1990
- Pt. Ravishankar Award from College of Art, New Delhi,
1992
- British Council Visitorship, 1993
- Harmony Award, Mumbai, 1999
- Royal Watercolour Society, London, 2002
- Indo-American Society, 2005
- Dayawati Modi Award for Art, Culture and Education, 2012
- ABP’s Sera Bengali Award, Kolkata, 2013
- Hall of Fame by Hello (Times of India Group)
- Cartier Award, St. Moritz Switzerland Art Masters, 2014
- Padma Shri, Government of India, 2014
- Eastern Eye Editor’s Special Award for contribution in
field of art in Royal Festival Hall, London, 2016
- Award from Bihar Government, 2017
Books
- An Enchanting Journey: Paresh Maity’s Kerala
- Paresh Maity: An Odyssey 16th -29th November 2000
- Paresh Maity: Shapes in symphony
- Paresh Maity: World of Watercolours
- Life and Works of Paresh Maity - 25 years
- The World on a Canvas - Paresh Maity
Top 10 Auction Records
| Title
|
Price Realized |
| Morning
|
USD 62,500 |
| Untitled
|
USD 61,270 |
| After the Night Watch
|
USD 54,000 |
| Eternal Nature
|
USD 46,927 |
| The Journey
|
USD 42,151 |
| Aarti (Breaking Meditation)
|
USD 38,863 |
| Dawn
|
USD 35,000 |
| Desert Storm
|
USD 33,000 |
| Night
|
USD 31,250 |
| Dusk
|
USD 30,000 |