19 August,2011 10:25 AM IST | | Sheena Thomas
There is never a day when artist Paresh Maity doesn't paint. Even when he's travelling, his paraphernalia goes with him. And that's what he loves about his job -- the fact that he never has to work. Currently participating in a group sculpture show, Cube, at the Art Musings, Colaba, and also showing a solo exhibition on Rabindranath Tagore at the NGMA Gallery in Delhi, Paresh talks to CS about his work:
Who: Paresh Maity
What: Talks about loving what he does
Where: At the Art Musings, Colaba
Paint hearted
I've always been a big fan of Rabindranath Tagore, so I decided to do a painting series on his last 15 poems which he wrote on his deathbed. His work has a sublime quality that is easy to translate on canvas. This is my way of paying tribute to him. However, though I might be better known for my paintings than my sculptures,
I am first an artist. And the best part about being an artist is that I can create anything out of anything. For a long time, I'd been painting on a flat surface, so for this group show I decided to paint in a sculpture that is multidimensional. Not many people know that my tryst with art was as a sculptor. In Kolkata, where I come from, we have this big tradition of pujas. So I started making idols and then discovered my love for art. When I was in art school, I developed a bias for painting, and fell in love with the primary, basic colours, that have now become my trademark. I think they represent a unique sense of Indianness.
Big and beautiful
I love what I do, so I have no qualms working day and night. For the last 30 years, I've been painting every single day. I know that it is some sort of a record (laughs). And talking of records, I have created a 800 sq ft painting titled The Indian Odyssey for the New Delhi Airport. It's probably the longest work in the country and one of the longest in the world. When you are given that kind of space to play around with, you can really unleash your creativity.
Trash course
I also enjoy doing installations because there is a lot of scope to experiment. And the biggest challenge for me is to convert the trash into something usefull. So, for my last show, I had produced some installations with old motorbike parts. It is very satisfying to create value from something that's seemingly redundant. And that's what makes an artist's job fulfilling.
