Tranquil Vistas by Mak Dehejia

Tranquil Vistas is a solo exhibition of watercolors by Mak Dehejia, winner of the 2023 Park View Artist Award, on display at the Park View Gallery in Glen Echo Park. The collection, created over the first half of 2025, presents serene landscapes drawn from both the artist’s immediate surroundings and his memories of rural India. Dehejia works primarily in transparent watercolor, using the medium’s luminosity and unpredictability to evoke feelings of peace, silence, and solitude. His compositions simplify scenes—often favoring reflections in water and warm sunset tones—leaving room for the viewer’s own interpretation. The exhibition marks a return to the park where Dehejia first took painting lessons after retiring from a career in engineering and finance.

Exhibition Dates: August 1, 2025 through August 29, 2026.
Venue: Park View Gallery, Glen Echo Park, 7300 MacArthur Blvd, Glen Echo, MD 20812.
Opening Reception: Friday, August 1, 2025, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm, held during the park’s Art Walk.
Gallery Hours: Saturdays and Sundays, 12:00 pm to 6:00 pm; other times by appointment.
About the Artist: Mak Dehejia is a self-taught watercolorist who began painting after retiring from engineering and finance. A longtime resident of the DMV area, he first studied at Glen Echo Park’s Yellow Barn Studio and later at the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria. He is a Signature Member of the Baltimore Watercolor Society and the Potomac Valley Watercolorists, and also belongs to the Gaithersburg Fine Arts Association and the Art League of Alexandria. His work has been exhibited throughout the DELMARVA region and has earned multiple awards.
Artist Statement: Dehejia writes that he seeks solace in natural landscapes and chooses watercolor for its unique interplay of pigment, water, and paper, which produces luminous transparent fields of color. His palette is influenced by childhood memories of dust storms and intense sunsets in Gujarat and Sind, leading him to favor warm hues and calming imagery of hills, streams, and reflections. He notes that while galleries often expect large works, these small paintings are intended to convey mood and feeling rather than depict specific locations.
Admission: Free and open to the public.
Contact: For more information, visit glenechopark.org/exhibitions or glenechopark.org/parkviewgallery.