Moving mute and still visuals

Reviewed by Gwen Herat

There is no need for the Sri Lankan artist in search of subjects to go to history or mythology or for that matter, Sinhala literature. He needs only to ransack the mysterious East and North and the boundaries held within. He will find a rich harvest of subjects, waiting to be reaped by the power of his brush. The colours are gorgeous but unfortunately very few had the capacity to exploit its splendour.

End of the day

However, there is a boom of young and not so young painters colourwashing their canvases and one such is Amarasena Kodituwakku who held his seventh art exhibition at the Lionel Wendt, a few days ago.

To what extent he has improved from his last exhibition. I am unable to say though faintly I can recall seeing some. But Kodituwakku has the strength to move with time and face new challenges that arise from the world of art.

He is genuine and retains the Sri Lankan identity though at times his brush strays towards the Mogul traditions when he tries to deck and decorate cart-bulls that give a different twist to the local animal.

It is very apparent in painting No.1 titled 'End of the Day'. There is a glorious fusion of red and orange burn in the sky as against the dark twigs of barren trees. But the bull is not what I would have painted and the cart is so unlike the bullock.

Well, it could be an improvised cart in the mind of the painter who put in a distinctive Mogul aura round its neck.

May be that Kodituwakku loves his animals and place them on a high pedestal. This is a good painting for the drawing room for display.

Kodituwakku is a living example of the Sri Lankan painters that are an amazing lot in that each and every one of them has their own individual identity. The world of art is very intimidating and self-effacing elitist place full of misconceptions which pry open the world of art galleries around the world.

We have the capacity and the courage to stand up to any quality art from around the world. Our problem is that there is no encouragement.

Visual objects

So, the painter suffers and frustrates. If our paintings can be generated internationally and its stature elevated, painters such as Amarasena Kodituwakku would have gained unparalleled heights and so are the others. And, there is the issue whether our art can be represented on the web because some visual objects do not properly translate on line.

So, what do we do? We should exhibit them at international galleries and our missions abroad should take the initiative. When Sri Lankan painters come to the intersection of their career, most of them give up in frustration unable to market their products and Sri Lanka loses talented artists.

Frustration

All these aspects crossed my mind as I viewed Kodituwakku's paintings which he exhibited for the seventh time titled Yugaya. He is a good artist of his generation and he can inspire the up and coming youngsters. His visual charm, at times, gets mute and still, like a moving visual on TV that freezes for a moment, and next it springs back to life.

This I noticed in his figures that captivate the 'feel' put in by the artist. His colours are sharp and at times over exposed whereas had he subdued his brush, the effect would have surfaced better.

But then artists have their own colour-mixing which differs from how we look at them. Probably, bright, sharp and brilliant colours may be his forte.

His colour variations are truly his own identity and speak highly for his creative talent. He attempts to stick to conventional art than give way to modern or contemporary. There are no cubism, mythological or any form of impressionism as he leaves his signature.

Humility

The simple, unaffected artist who is full of humility struck me for his genuine contribution towards the culture of art. He deserves a better place than where he is now, But who will lend our artists such encouragement? Kodituwakku was awarded the prestigious Kalabooshana award in 1997.

Some of the paintings that caught my eye were: No. 9 - Relaxation - A woman in soft colour scheme of grey and pink, very cleverly mixed to effect clarity of line and space. No.13 - The right path - Once again his favourite colour combination of grey and pink but with the bold addition of faces in green. I thought the painting was very unusual with its black background. No.19 - Frustration - I did not observe any frustration in the picture let alone on the figures. It was a beautiful piece of art work in blues and pink. No.32 - Swinging thoughts - Swing high; swing low. What was it that went though the artist's mind when he painted delightful belles. The painting should have been less colour oriented.