Master sculptor at work

The first rays of light upon the earth was still pale and caressing. The air was still cool. The birds had gone to their resting places. I set off on my visit to the Lionel Wendt to view Tissa Ranasinghe's arts and sculpture exhibition.

It was not a day to speak to him as he was busy with the visitors.

Having obtained the London Matriculation Certificate in 1943, Ranasinghe was sent to Rathi Danapala to learn sculpting but he soon gave it up. Then he joined the Government College of Fine Arts to study drawing and painting under the late J.D.A. Perera. After obtaining a Diploma in Painting in 1952 from the Government College of Fine Arts he earned a Diploma in Sculpture from Chelsea School of Art in London, and Certificate in bronze casting from Royal College of Art, London.

Tissa Ranasinghe

In 1959 he held his first one-man exhibition of sculpture and drawings at the Lionel Wendt Art Gallery. Thereafter he held many exhibitions here and abroad. He left Sri Lanka in 1973 and taught at the Royal College of Arts, U.K. and gained the reputation as one of the finest sculptors. He passed on his skills to several generations of students at the School of Sculpture Royal College of Arts, London, and finally was elected to a fellowship. In Sri Lanka his creations stand outside the old Parliament building, Galle Face Hotel and many more historical and old institutions.

The lyrical quality of the sculptures is evident in his creations. They follow the tradition of ancient Hindu and Buddhist art which has no signs of violence. The 'Kawadi dancers' 'Garuda' and many of his other creations have traces of Hindu and Buddhist mythology. His style reflects fundamental feelings of humour and tenderness. This time tested art form has allowed the artist to create bold eye-catching compositions, such as 'Horse cart; 'man reading paper, and Sleeping man', they are pen and ink drawings.

Tissa Ranasinghe had successfully created a formula for solving the problem of design which he had applied freely to illustrate aspects of Hindu and Buddhist mythology.

The exhibition helped to foster a wider recognition of the creative achievements of the artist.

"On every side we are fed the idea of the short cut, the lucky break, the meteoric career, the artful sideways jump. Young creators in every field go around thinking they are washed up at twenty-five even if they haven't 'broken through' Artists fear that they must do something to attract the attention of Saatchi or Serota rather than lovingly perfecting their craft and honouring their vision", says Libby Purves.

Tissa Ranasinghe quoted the above statement of Libby Purves published in a Sunday newspaper to drive home an important point.

Mithuna Couple (Standing) and Mithuna Couple (Seated)	Bagiratha's penance