New Delhi, Jan 05: Architect and artist Mansi Trehan presents Sehrā-e-ret The Dancing Dunes, a solo exhibition of paintings, with a well-attended preview held on Saturday, January 3, 2026, from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm at Kalamkar Gallery, Bikaner House, India Gate, New Delhi. The exhibition is open to the public from January 4 to 7, 2026, between 11:00 am and 7:00 pm.
Bikaner House came alive as the capital’s cultural fraternity gathered for the preview of Sehrā-e-ret, marking the debut solo collection of Mansi Trehan. Drawing deeply from her roots in the four-decade-old family architectural practice, Planners Group Pvt. Ltd., Trehan’s work seamlessly bridges the precision of architectural structure with the fluid, shifting rhythm of desert landscapes.
The preview evening unfolded as a sensory dialogue between art, architecture, and movement, graced by Chief Guest Professor K.T. Ravindran and Guest of Honour, Padma Shri Geeta Chandran. The event extended beyond the canvas, evoking the delicate balance between stillness and motion that defines both desert terrain and human experience.
The exhibition features 31 paintings rendered in acrylic on wooden boards and canvas. Informed by her architectural training, Trehan employs the ‘patti’—a rectangular metal sheet commonly used for applying wall putty in construction—as her primary painting tool. This distinctive technique enables her to create layered textures and tactile surfaces, grounding each artwork in materiality and reinforcing the intrinsic connection between her architectural and artistic practices.
Sehrā-e-ret – The Dancing Dunes explores the physical and emotional landscape of the Indian desert and its deep relationship with the lives of those who inhabit it. Inspired by the shifting sands and winds of Jodhpur and Jaisalmer, the works portray the desert not as a static geography but as a living, breathing entity—shaped by memory, erosion, renewal, and time. Each canvas becomes a contemplative journey, rendered with restraint, softness, and sensitivity.
This body of work emerges from Trehan’s sustained engagement with space, rhythm, and movement. With over eighteen years of architectural practice, she approaches painting as an act of layering—of experience, texture, and emotion. Her preference for wooden boards, including reused bases from architectural models, reflects a tactile relationship with materials and a desire to work on surfaces that already carry history and energy.
Reflecting on the exhibition, Mansi Trehan said,
“The desert has a quiet power. It is always moving yet deeply still. As we walk through life, we leave traces behind—sometimes the wind preserves them, sometimes it erases them. My paintings reflect this dialogue between memory, time, and the inner self.”
The exhibition also draws from the spirit of Rajasthan and its people, particularly the women of the desert. Their strength, resilience, and emotional depth are echoed through the movement and colour within the works. Vibrant hues speak of warmth, endurance, and the ability to create meaning and beauty within restraint.
Sehrā-e-ret – The Dancing Dunes invites viewers into a space of quiet reflection, where landscape becomes metaphor and texture becomes memory. Through abstraction and material exploration, the exhibition encourages stillness, introspection, and a deeper engagement with one’s inner emotional world—an experience that has already resonated strongly with visitors.
