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 3rd, 2026 from 6pm to 9pm at Kalamkar Gallery, Bikaner House, India Gate, New Delhi. The exhibition is open to the public from January 4th to 7th, 2026 between 11am and 7pm.
The capital’s cultural elite gathered at Bikaner House for an evocative evening marking the preview of ‘Sehra-e-ret’, the debut collection by architect & artist Mansi Trehan. Drawing from her roots in the four-decade-old family architectural firm, Planners Group Pvt Ltd, Trehan’s work masterfully bridged the gap between structural lines and the fluid, shifting sands of the desert.
The event was a sensory convergence of art, architecture, and dance, graced by Chief Guest Professor KT Ravindran and Guest of Honor, the renowned Padmashri Geeta Chandran. Attendees witnessed a celebration that moved beyond canvas, capturing the delicate balance between the stillness of structure and the flow of movement.
The exhibition features 31 paintings created in acrylic on wooden boards and canvas. Deeply shaped by her architectural practice, Mansi Trehan uses the ‘patti’—a rectangular metal sheet commonly used in construction for applying wall putty—as her primary painting tool. This unique technique allows her to build layered textures and tactile surfaces, making the process of painting closely connected to her identity as an architect and giving each artwork a strong material character.
Sehrā-e-ret – The Dancing Dunes explores the physical nature of the Indian desert and its deep connection with the lives of the people who live there. Inspired by the shifting winds and sands of Jodhpur and Jaisalmer, the works reflect a landscape that is constantly moving, changing, and responding. The desert is presented not as a fixed place, but as a living force shaped by memory, erosion, and renewal. For Mansi, each canvas becomes a quiet, reflective journey expressed with softness and sensitivity.
This body of work emerges from Mansi Trehan’s long engagement with space, rhythm, and movement. With over eighteen years of experience in architectural practice, she approaches painting as a process of layering experience, texture, and emotion. Her preference for wooden boards, including reused bases of architectural models, comes from a strong tactile relationship with materials and a desire to work on surfaces that already carry history and energy.
Speaking about 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 and sometimes the wind preserves them and sometimes it erases them. My paintings reflect that dialogue between memory, time, and the inner self.”
The exhibition also reflects the spirit of Rajasthan and its people, especially the women of the desert. Their strength, beauty, and emotional depth are seen in the colours and movement across the canvases. The vibrant hues reflect the warmth and richness women bring to the harsh landscape, creating life and meaning even in restraint.
Sehrā-e-ret, The Dancing Dunes invites viewers into a calm and reflective space where landscape becomes metaphor and texture becomes memory. Through abstraction and material exploration, the exhibition encourages stillness, introspection, and a deeper connection with one’s inner emotional world. Visitors have responded positively to the quiet strength and contemplative nature of the works.
