Escape moments caught in stillness
By Mahes Perera
The fourth solo exhibition of paintings and drawings by Priya
Goonetilleke will be displayed at the Lionel Wendt Art Gallery on June 7
and 8. The exhibition entitled Escape is a collection of 150 exhibits
which according to Priya took about one year to complete. In her
drawings Priya displays a rare ability to fill up surface adequately and
meaningfully through line, curve and colour.
|
Priya Goonetilleke |
A healthy note in her work according to critics "is that her
abstracts are contemplative moods with a distinctive individuality of
her own." Daughter of the well known art critic the late L.P. who was a
journalist and a diplomat, Priya's art is un-fluenced and her quest for
beauty is untutored, undirected spontaneous work which makes it
remarkable.
She drew her inspiration from works by George Keyt, L.T.P. Manjusri,
Justin Deriniyagala, A.C.G.S. Amarasekera and Senaka Senanayake.
Priya Goonetilleka said that her subjects are semi abstract,
landscapes, pen and ink landscapes and she has used vivid and vibrant
colours to most of her creative drawings.
The colours in focus in many of her paintings she claims are varied
tones of browns, blues and green.
Educated at Visakha Vidyalaya, Priya Goonetilleke grew up in the
midst of some of the best contemporary Sri Lankan painters, some of whom
were personally known to her from a very young age.
Thus it could be said that her home 'setting' was conducive for a
healthy creativity and flowering of her art.
The harmony and the rhythmic control of her art is pleasing not only
to the eye but to the mind. Priya Goonetilleke has had her solo
exhibitions in 1972, 1975 and1995.
In 1973 she displayed her paintings at the Annual Art Exhibition of
the Ceylon Society of Arts was fortunate to exhibit her drawings at the
XIII Bienal de Sao Paulo in 1975.
The Art Centre Club held an exhibition of her paintings in 1972 while
the German Cultural Institute did so in 1975.
|
