Padma Shri artist Paresh Maity transforms Noida International Airport into a cultural gateway through monumental paintings and immersive installations that celebrate the heritage, spirituality, and artistic traditions of Uttar Pradesh, redefining the role of public art within contemporary Indian infrastructure.
As Noida International Airport prepares to commence operations, it is unveiling not only a new chapter in India's aviation infrastructure but also a significant cultural initiative that places art at the heart of the passenger experience.
Through a major public art commission by Paresh Maity, the airport emerges as one of India's most ambitious examples of integrating contemporary art, regional heritage, and architectural design within a modern transportation hub.
Embedded within the architecture of Noida International Airport, Maity's monumental artworks transform the experience of transit into one of reflection, memory, and cultural encounter. In doing so, the project positions the airport not merely as a gateway to northern India but as a destination where visitors encounter the artistic and spiritual legacy of Uttar Pradesh from the moment they arrive.
For over four decades, Paresh Maity has occupied a distinctive position within contemporary Indian art. Renowned for his luminous watercolours, expansive landscapes, and immersive installations, his practice has been informed by journeys across geographies, histories, and emotional terrains. Whether depicting the ghats of Varanasi, the rivers of Bengal, the deserts of Rajasthan, or the coastal expanses of Kerala, his work consistently explores movement, light, and the interconnectedness of place and experience. The Noida International Airport commission emerges as a natural extension of a career long preoccupied with travel, transition, and the poetics of landscape.
At the heart of the project is a suite of six interconnected paintings conceived as a continuous visual narrative. Developed over nearly two years and executed over the course of a year, the work presents a panoramic journey through some of Uttar Pradesh's most significant cultural and spiritual landmarks. Beginning with the sacred ghats of Varanasi and the Buddhist heritage of Sarnath, the narrative moves through the Taj Mahal, Kusum Sarovar, Ayodhya, and culminates in the collective energy of the Mahakumbh.
Rather than functioning as literal illustrations of place, the paintings operate as meditations on the idea of awakening. A recurring palette of dawn and sunrise traverses the six panels, establishing what Maity describes as a shared theme of jagriti—a state of spiritual and cultural renewal. The motif resonates particularly within the context of an airport, itself a site of departure, arrival, and transformation.
The artist's ability to weave contemporary realities into historical and sacred landscapes remains one of the defining strengths of his practice. In the Varanasi panel, hot-air balloons float above the ancient cityscape, referencing the celebrated Dev Deepavali festivities while introducing a visual metaphor for elevation and perspective. Such interventions prevent the works from becoming static representations of heritage, positioning them instead within a living and evolving cultural present.
The commission also reflects concerns that have characterised much of Maity's recent work. Across his exhibitions, architecture, water, sky, and light recur as metaphors for passage, memory, and contemplation. The airport project extends these ideas into the public realm, bringing an artistic language more commonly encountered within galleries and museums into one of India's most visible civic spaces.
Complementing the paintings is Mystic Abode, Maity's acclaimed installation comprising more than 8,000 brass bells. Originally presented in Switzerland in 2016, the work has been reimagined for Noida International Airport. Constructed in the form of a dwelling, the installation invites visitors to move through its interior while surrounded by the resonant presence of bells,objects long associated with healing, meditation, and spiritual awakening within Indian cultural traditions.
Together, the paintings and installation establish a contemplative counterpoint to the velocity and technological sophistication of contemporary air travel. They remind visitors that mobility is not solely physical but also cultural and emotional.
Significantly, Maity's contribution forms part of a larger design vision embedded throughout the airport. References to the ghats of Banaras, the courtyards of traditional havelis, Sanjhi art, regional craft traditions, textiles, and locally sourced materials collectively position Noida International Airport as a cultural gateway that celebrates the heritage of Uttar Pradesh while embracing the aspirations of a global future.
In this context, the artworks perform a role that extends beyond decoration. They become instruments of cultural storytelling, offering travellers an encounter with the layered histories, spiritual traditions, and visual heritage of Uttar Pradesh. At a time when airports around the world are increasingly conceived as public cultural spaces, Noida International Airport's collaboration with one of India's most celebrated contemporary artists signals an important engagement between infrastructure, public art, and regional identity.
For Paresh Maity, whose career has consistently bridged the local and the global, the commission represents another significant chapter in an artistic journey dedicated to translating experiences of movement, landscape, and human connection into enduring visual form. As passengers pass through one of India's newest international gateways, they will also encounter a compelling narrative of place, one articulated through the language of contemporary Indian art.
