Quick Facts
Biography
Somnath Maity (born 1960) is an Indian artist, known for his oil paintings of urban landscapes.
Biography
Somenath Maity (Born 8th November 1960, Contai, East Midnapore) is an Indian painter well-known for his oil paintings of urban landscapes. Often regarded as an avante garde of contemporary Indian Art, Maity works mostly on canvas. He completed his diploma in Fine Arts from the Indian College of Art, Kolkata in 1980-85 and has held his solo shows at major galleries in Kolkata, Mumbai, Bangalore and New Delhi. His works has also been exhibited in Germany, Sweden and UK. He has received several awards and scholarships including the AIFACS award and scholarship in 1995-02, Birla Academy Award and a Senior Fellowship from the Ministry of HRD, Govt. of India in 2002. He lives and works near Kolkata.
Education
- 1979-85 studied Fine Arts at Visual Arts under guidance of Shuvaprasanna, Calcutta.
- 1980-85 five years Diploma Course in Fine Arts from Indian College of Arts and Draftsmanship, Calcutta.
Honours
- 2002-03 Senior Fellowship, ministry of Culture, Govt. of India
- 2002 AIFACS Award, New Delhi
- 2002 Birla Academy Award, Calcutta
- 1995 AIFACS Scholarship, New Delhi
- 1993-94 Research Grant from Lalitkala Academy, New Delhi
- 1992 All India Youth Art Camp organised by IAAI
- 1986 Cultural Dept. of West Bengal
- 1984-85 B. P. Poddar Memorial Scholarship, College of Visual Arts, Kolkata
- 2012 Jury of All India Camel Colour Art Contest
Solo Shows
- 2015 Mahua Art Gallery, Bengaluru
- 2014 Jehangeer Art Gallery, Mumbai
- 2013 Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai
- 2013 Prakrit Art Gallery, Chennai
- 2013 Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai
- 2011 Lalit Kala Akademi, New Delhi
- 2011 Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai
- 2010 Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai
- 2009 Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai
- 2008 Sanskriti Art Gallery, Calcutta
- 2007 Art Space,Calcutta
- 2006 Mahua Art Gallery, Bangalore
- 2006 Art Folio Gallery, Chandigarh
- 2005 Time and Space, Bangalore
- 2005 Tao Art Gallery, Mumbai
- 2004 Gallery One, Gurgaon
- 2003 Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai
- 2002 Birla Academy of Art & Culture, Calcutta
- 2002 Trivenikala Sangam, New Delhi
- 2001 Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, Bangalore
- 2000 Karnataka Chitrakala Parishath, Bangalore
- 1999 Jehangir Art Gallery, Mumbai
- 1998 Birla Academy of Art & Culture, Calcutta
- 1997 Rabindra Bhavan, Lalitkala Academy, New Delhi
- 1994 Birla Academy of Art & Culture, Calcutta
- 1991 Birla Academy of Art & Culture, Calcutta
- 1991 Bajaj Art Gallery, Mumbai
- 1989 Tagore Art Gallery, Airport, Calcutta
- 1986 Academy of Fine Arts, Calcutta
Shows Abroad
- 2007 One Man Show and Artist in Residency at Manhattan & Warwick, New York, Fremond, San
- 2007 Group Show at London organised by Mahua Art Gallery
- 2007 Imprints – Indiart Show at Ueno Royal Museum, Tokyo, Japan
- 2007 Royal Academy, London organised by Art Alive
- 2006 Group Show at LASALLE-SIA College of the Arts, Singapore
- 2006 Group Show at London organised by Aroshi Gallery
- 2002 Henley Festival, U.K.
- 2002 Group Show and Artist in Residency at Barn Gallery, Henley, U.K.
- 1991 Group Show at Greenwich Citizen Art Gallery, U.K.
- 1991 Group Show at Ipswitch Art Gallery, U.K.
- 1983 One Man Show at Stuttgart, West Germany
- 1983 Group Show at Stockholm, Sweden
Press Reception
Maity is well known as an oil painter across India, whether judged by his appearances in national newspapers or by the number of galleries offering his works for sale.
National newspapers
Maity is treated as a major modern artist by national newspapers and magazines in India:
- The Hindu: A Maity Journey by Lakshmi Krupa. March 26, 2013.
In artist Somenath Maity’s work, currently on display at Prakrit Gallery, one sees the juxtaposition of his childhood memories of a small town with bustling Kolkata chock-a-block with sky-high buildings. The result is a canvas of almost mythical quality — picture long façades illuminated by a crescent of a moon, or soft sunlight pouring out of a corner of an otherwise unlit space.
- MYOD: Against All Odds by Himani Tyagi. December 12, 2011.
Lauded for his avant-garde work, Somenath Maity observes the inner beauty of cities and paints them on his canvases. But childhood to fame has been an arduous journey for him. Here, Himani Tyagi gets a sense of the artist and his art through the prism of his life’s struggles
- The Hindu: Painting sculptures by Aruna Chandaraju. July 21, 2010.
"Somenath Maity interprets the urban sprawl of Kolkata in his many paintings and his untitled canvas offers a slice of that cityscape with elements like a gateway and cross-bar railings, in rich, layered colours." - feature article in one of India's leading national newspapers.
- The Hindu: Forms and figures October 30, 2008.
Somenath Maity’s forms in “Structures” using oil on canvas, Palaniappan R.M.’s striking “Quick Withdrawal” uses geometry, Senathipathi M.’s “Arjuna” — acrylic on paper is a floating fishes, floorboard and Arjuna’s many heads disoriented.
- India Today In the City. Bangalore. October 1, 2008.
"a massive show featuring masters and big names like S.G. Vasudev, Somenath Maity, Basukinath Dasgupta and G Subramaniam"
- Mid Day: Delhi Be cause. Navdeep Kaur Marwah. October 13, 2008.
"Curated by Gautam Kar, this ongoing group show has on display works of several experienced artists like ... Somenath Maity and Thota Vaikuntham among others. We have selected those artists for the show who have been in this field for over 15 years, as they bring with them the experience and the seriousness that we required," says Isha Singh, owner of Art Laureate."
Art galleries
Maity's work is exhibited, reviewed, and sold at many art galleries across India:
- Profile of Somenath Maity on SaffronArt "Recognized today as one of Bengal's important new emerging painters, Maity has already exhibited his works at many major Indian and European galleries. He has won awards and scholarships from most of the major Indian fine art institutions, including the All India Fine Arts and Crafts Society, the Birla Academy and the IAAI. With several one-man exhibitions in India and abroad to his credit, including shows in Germany Sweden and the United Kingdom, his paintings also enjoy pride of place in prestigious permanent collections like those of the National Gallery of Modern Art and the Lalit Kala Academy in New Delhi, the Fukuoka Museum in Japan and also in several corporate and private collections all over the world."
- Art Alive Gallery: Investing in Art recommends "To start, one should invest in large works of younger artists or buy drawings or small works of established artists that suit small budgets. Here are some investment options for a new investor in art at different levels ... Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 100,000 - buy Nupur Kundu, Somenath Maity, Partha Shaw, T.M. Aziz, Ravi Kumar Kashi, Sanjiv Sonpimpare"
Maity's paintings are for sale or exhibited at sites such as: