With a body of work that explores the physical terrain of the Indian desert and the lives shaped by it, architect Mansi Trehan presents her solo exhibition ‘Sehra-e-Ret: The Dancing Dunes’. The show will be on view from January 4 to January 7, 2026, at Kalamkar Gallery, Bikaner House, New Delhi.
Trehan, who has over 18 years of experience as an architect, is also trained in Bharatanatyam. Drawing from her visits to the Jodhpur and Jaisalmer districts of Rajasthan, she converts the movement of sand and wind into textured, abstract compositions.
Using a palette dominated by reds, oranges, and ochres, Trehan creates surfaces that echo the desert’s undulating forms. Interestingly, she employs a rectangular metal sheet—or ‘patti’, commonly used to apply wall putty—to build layers and textures in her works.
The artworks depict vast sandy landscapes as well as the people who inhabit them, capturing both the stillness and motion inherent to desert life.
Reflecting on her engagement with the desert, Trehan says, “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 that dialogue between memory, time, and the inner self.”
Through abstraction and material experimentation, Trehan explores themes of stillness and transience—much like the desert winds that continuously erase the trails left behind by human presence.