ARTS
Singular beauty in reality
An exhibition of figurative art:
By Ranga Chandrarathne
[email protected]
 An exhibition of figurative art by Jayantha Silva will be held from
September 12 to October 05 at La Rambla Restaurant, Colombo 08. The
forte of Jayantha seems to be his innate ability to interpret reality
with brush strokes and a unique composition of light and shade.
Jayantha’s combination of colours differs from one painting to
another to suit the subject at hand. Against the abstracts, Jayantha
Silva paints reality. He has been inspired by the environment and human
figures. Though the human figures have been drawn with photographic
impressions, they stand on their own as unique pieces of art.
Significant characteristic of Jayantha’s human figures is that they
are more alive than photographs of the same human figures. This is
manifested by several exhibits that have been included in the present
collection.
Smiling child is a painting that captures a rare moment of a child.
The child smiles with closed up eyes against the backdrop of white
canvas.
Jayantha has used brown and white for this painting. The artist has
brilliantly depicted the happiness of the child through the facial
expressions. Here the effect of light on child’s face has also been
depicted against the white background. The light, perhaps, from the sun
falls on the child’s body by a side and the effect of light has been
portrayed by craftily manipulating light and shade in the painting. In
terms of colour combination and use of light and shade in expressing the
emotional state of the child, the painting has fulfilled its intended
purpose.
 The woman’s face is a different type of figurative drawing where a
part of the human face is depicted. The woman’s face is marked by its
sharp features such as straight nose. However, the artist has been
cautious about the identity of the figure. The artist made a woman-face
an universal symbol of femininity by simply obliterating the eyes. It is
here that the deserving viewers should focus on and identify the
principle different between a mere portrait and a figurative drawing.
‘Lass’ is a one of the captivating works which, once again, depicts a
woman’s bust. Here a significant feature of the painting is that the
artist achieved the task with the use of minimum brush strokes. White
has been used in contrast to fading black which makes up the figure.
The figure of a woman in a night gown on a bed is another creation
where the artist was able to depict the amber atmosphere just after the
dawn. The light on her body has been illustrated in carefully texturing
the woman figure with light and shade.‘Expression’ is a painting which
depicts gamut of emotions in a woman’s face. Here Jayantha captures a
rare aspect of an emotion-filled face. It is not a very beautiful face
but a memorable one which is re-created as black and white portrait.
‘Nobody’s child’, ‘Market man’, ‘Naughty’ and ‘Little Valli’ are some
of the best creations which stand out in the collection.
A singular characteristic of Jayantha’s painting is his remarkable
ability to paint human figures. It is amply demonstrated in that rather
than mere portraying figures, Jayantha goes deep into the lives of the
subject. For instance, ‘Nobody’s child’, ‘Yard of Tea’ and ‘Music ‘are
the depiction of men and women of different walks on a canvas rather
than mere drawing of figures.
Though Jayantha has not been formerly educated in the field of Art,
he seems to grasp the subtleties and nuances of the craft by sheer
practice and deep insight into the environment and into the landscape of
human activities.
Urban changes
Documentary Photo Exhibition:
by Ranga Chandrarathne
 The Documentary Photo Exhibition “Urban Changes” will open for public
on September 13 at the German Cultural Centre in Colombo. The exhibition
highlights the changes cityscape in India.
URBAN FABRIC
The Dhobi Ghats of India
Alefiya drew a photo-essay on the Ghats or communal laundries. They
are formed by row upon row of concrete wash pens each fitted with their
own flogging stone and occupied by one Dhobi, washer.
The clothes are washed in this murky water, hit against the stones,
tossed into huge vats of boiling starch and gifted to the scorching sun
to dry. The following day they are ironed and piled into neat bundles.
The photographers who contribute to the exhibition include Alefiya
Akbarally, Baptist Coelho, Clare Arni, Jagath Deerasekara, Mahesh
Shantharam, Sohail Abdullah and Vivek M.
The exhibition is sponsored by Sri Lanka Telecom.
Arts Diary
Unexpected Moment
“Unexpected Moment”, an exhibition of paintings by Wasantha Kumara
will be held on September 14 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Welagedara Badulla.
(R.C.)

Open seminar on ABA
A seminar organized by Swarna Sanka Foundation titled “Who this ABA”
will be held on September 11 from 3.30 p.m. to 6.30 p.m. at Mahaweli
Kendraya. ABA is a film directed by Jackson Anthony and is hailed as
technologically perfect production where state-of-art machinery has been
used for the production. (R.C.)
|