How Architect Mansi Trehan Translates Desert Landscapes Into Layered Paintings
Architect and artist Mansi Trehan brings her dual sensibilities to the fore in Sehra-e-Ret – The Dancing Dunes, a solo exhibition of paintings currently on view at Kalamkar Gallery, Bikaner House, near India Gate, New Delhi. Open to the public from January 4 to 7, 2026, the exhibition marks Trehan’s debut solo presentation and places her paintings firmly at the centre of the conversation.
Rooted in her long engagement with architecture, the works reflect a thoughtful shift from built form to painterly abstraction, where landscapes are not depicted but felt. The exhibition positions Trehan as an artist whose visual language is shaped as much by structural discipline as by emotional intuition.
Preview Evening at Bikaner House
The preview of Sehra-e-Ret drew artists, architects, and cultural figures to Bikaner House, setting the tone for an exhibition that quietly bridges multiple disciplines. The evening was attended by Chief Guest Professor K.T. Ravindran and Guest of Honour Padma Shri Geeta Chandran, reinforcing the dialogue between architecture, visual art, and movement.
Rather than a conventional gallery opening, the preview unfolded as a reflective gathering, echoing the contemplative quality of Trehan’s work and her interest in rhythm, balance, and stillness.
Paintings Shaped by Architectural Practice
The exhibition features 31 paintings executed in acrylic on wooden boards and canvas. Trehan’s architectural background is not incidental but central to the way the works are conceived and created. Having spent over 18 years in professional practice with her family firm, Planners Group Pvt Ltd, she approaches painting with a strong material awareness and spatial sensitivity.
One of the most distinctive aspects of her process is her use of the ‘patti’, a rectangular metal sheet commonly used on construction sites for applying wall putty. As her primary painting tool, it allows her to spread, scrape, and layer pigment, creating surfaces that feel built rather than brushed. The resulting textures give the paintings a tactile, almost sculptural presence.
Wooden Boards as Living Surfaces
Trehan’s preference for wooden boards, including reused bases from architectural models, further underscores her material-driven approach. These surfaces often carry marks, edges, and imperfections, which she allows to remain visible. For the artist, the board is not a neutral backdrop but a collaborator, holding memory and energy from its earlier life.
This choice aligns closely with the themes of the exhibition, where erosion, layering, and time play a central role. The paintings appear weathered yet deliberate, echoing landscapes shaped slowly by wind and movement.
Interpreting the Dancing Dunes
Sehra-e-Ret – The Dancing Dunes draws inspiration from the deserts of Rajasthan, particularly Jodhpur and Jaisalmer. Trehan’s works do not present literal desert scenes. Instead, they evoke the desert as a living force, constantly shifting yet deeply grounded.
Through abstraction, she captures the movement of sand, the rhythm of wind, and the quiet persistence of the landscape. Muted earth tones sit alongside warmer, more vibrant hues, suggesting both restraint and resilience. Each canvas feels like a pause in motion, a moment where change and stillness coexist.
Memory, Time, and the Inner Landscape
At its core, the exhibition reflects Trehan’s ongoing engagement with memory and the passage of time. The desert becomes a metaphor for the inner self, shaped by experiences that are sometimes preserved and sometimes erased.
Speaking about the exhibition, Trehan describes the desert as a space of paradox, always moving yet profoundly still. This tension finds expression in her layered surfaces and restrained compositions, inviting viewers to slow down and observe rather than interpret quickly.
Echoes of Rajasthan’s Spirit
The works also carry subtle references to the people of the desert, particularly its women. Strength, endurance, and emotional depth emerge through colour and movement, reflecting the life and warmth that persist within a challenging landscape.
Quiet rather than declarative, Sehra-e-Ret – The Dancing Dunes offers a reflective viewing experience. By drawing on her architectural practice and material instincts, Mansi Trehan creates paintings that feel grounded, contemplative, and deeply connected to both place and process.
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