There is a quietude that permeates the canvases of Pradip Maitra—an arresting stillness that neither demands attention nor relinquishes it. Born in 1959, Maitra has spent decades cultivating a language of painting that resists noise and spectacle. Instead, his works exhale a soft, unhurried breath, inviting the viewer into moments of introspection, memory, and emotional resonance. Educated at the Indian College of Art & Draftsmanship in Kolkata, his foundational training in academic realism is ever-present, yet his treatment of form transcends formalism.
Maitra’s visual grammar leans into solitude and silence. Figures appear enveloped in soft shadows or emerge from textured fields, suspended between presence and absence. In this delicate tension lies the artist’s power—each composition acts as a portal, leading viewers into quiet territories of thought, longing, or even unresolved grief. There are no grand gestures, no overt narratives. Yet the emotive weight of his paintings lingers long after first viewing.
His works, often rendered in subdued tones and layered textures, mirror the layered nature of inner life. Light is never simply illumination; it becomes metaphor—of consciousness, of divinity, or simply of time slipping through the cracks of daily existence. In a world that celebrates immediacy and volume, Maitra’s paintings return us to the slow and the essential.
Over the years, his art has found home in discerning collections across India and abroad, appreciated by those who value subtlety over spectacle. Each painting is not merely an object of beauty but a space for contemplation—a moment suspended in time, quietly powerful, and profoundly human.
Artist represented
by Aakriti Art Gallery
Address: Orbit Enclave, 12/3a, Picasso Bithi, Mullick Bazar, Park Street area, Kolkata, West Bengal 700017, Phone: 033 2289 3027
