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| Sunday, 5 December 2004 |
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Faces famous and familiar Veteran artist Tissa Hewavitarne makes a sharp detour from familiar territory of landscapes and still life, to capture the subtler nuances of personal idiosyncrasies in his latest solo endeavour titled 'Mata Hamuvu Rasawath Minissu (roughly translated - Interesting people I've met).
Delicious in composition as in thought, featured in the unusual exhibition are endearing caricatures of men and women, eminent and ordinary, who have, over the years, made a lasting impression on the artist. On display at the Lionel Wendt until December 7, the caricatures, showcasing the artist's versatility with colours and contours, offer a refreshingly different look at men and women, whose accomplishments often overshadow their personality. Fitting into the perfect caricature are the larger than life figures of Reggie Candappa, the advertising icon who gave new meaning to the concept of hype, Gwen Herath who gave more than a touch of femininity to cricket, Arthur V. D. S. Dias, alias 'Kos Mama' who made the humble jak fruit almost a steady staple, Rienzie Wijethilleke, the banking icon, Fr. Marcelline Jayakody, Rukmani Devi, and a whole host of others both familiar and famous. "These are caricatures of people I've met and who have made an impression on me," says Hewavitarne, who in his long careers as an artist and an advertising executive, has met, mingled and made friends with people of all walks of life ranging from business tycoons to actresses, authors and humble office workers. In a style that is uncluttered and could easily be described as 'minimalistic' he uses few lines and pleasing shades to bring to vivid life the faces of these friends and acquaintances. A versatile artist with water colours as his preferred media, Hevawitarne tried his hand at black and white sketches using Indian ink, graduated into wider techniques and dabbled with poster painting, scraper boardwork (done on a hard black board on which the object, already outlined is scraped) and cartoons before settling for watercolours as his chosen media. He describes watercolours as a 'highly expressive form of art that is both exciting and enjoyable'. Displaying a childlike enthusiasm at his work, he says a watercolour artist is capable of capturing the glories of nature with its varying shades of light and dark and the in between misty shades with a few strokes of the brush. That this is not a wild boast is amply demonstrated at the exhibition, which is his fourth solo effort in Sri Lanka, and also includes some of his favourite landscapes. He has held several international exhibitions in Munster, West Germany and in Bahrain, where he was employed as an advertising executive until recently. 'Mata Hamuvu Rasawath Minissu', sponsored by the NDB Housing Bank, was opened by Sumithra Peiris yesterday and will be open to the public from 10.00 am to 7.00 pm from December 5 to 7. |
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