Whether you are an artist, critic, or a person who merely enjoys beautiful artwork, you would be well advised to pay a visit to the exhibition of ‘Sri Lankan Art 2018’, currently on at the J D A Perera Gallery, No 46 Horton Place Colombo 7. The exhibition runs until October 28, and is open from 10 am to 6 pm.
All the works are by local artists and most are for sale. Apart from the pleasure derived from a work of art itself, investment in Art, even speculatively, can be a profitable venture - and I speak from personal experience. Therefore, whether you are looking for something with which to enliven your living room or a Corporate Boardroom, or hope to purchase a work by a yet ‘undiscovered’ artist, this would be a good hunting ground.
The range of works include, line drawings, acrylics, water colours , Chinese Ink Wash, Oil on canvas, Mix Media and Pastel, while the subjects encompass portraits, landscapes, abstracts, and nudes, not forgetting the whimsical cartoon-like painting by Anura Srinath (titled ‘Anyway, the village is graceful!’– (No 138).
This type of exhibition opens an avenue for new, young and undiscovered talent. Artists who caught my eye were – Jayantha Silva’s works (‘Sofa So Good’ (No 129), and ‘Chik’ (No 131), Ms Charita Lay (‘Swirl” (No 88)), Basil Cooray (Nude composition (No 29) and Violinist with Moonlight (No 28), an untitled work (No 147) by Dilantha Upul, the work of Dr Shanaka Kulatunga and ‘Rodee Women’ by Indral de Silva. Art is a personal experience, so see and decide for yourself! During the short time I spent at the gallery, most of the visitors were foreigners.
This exhibition is presented by The George Keyt Foundation, in association with Nation’s Trust Bank, who along with a few other Corporate entities such as, the John Keells Group, deserve kudos for their patronage of the Arts.
- Jayanta Kurukulasuriya
paintings Pix: Vipula Amarasinghe