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| Wednesday, 25 August 2004 |
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Gallery Mano's imaginary forms by Sarath Chandrajeewa Manoranjana Herath will hold his 11th solo exhibition of sculpture and drawings at the Gallery Finom(e)nel Space, Galle Face Court 1, Colombo 3 from August 27 to September 6. Mano's creativity is like a flowing stream. This is his eleventh solo exhibition. By constantly doing the work that he knows best, he has once again proved his stand as a visual artist. He is sensitive to his surroundings. In short, he tries to convey his life incidents through his work. This genuine honesty which is spread in and throughout his work is an important element when it comes to his success.
We can clearly see the influence of the mythical animal figures of the Gampola period (which he is presently researching), in this exhibition. That is why I see 'Imaginary Forms' as a presentation of the reality of his present life. He is showing once again through this exhibition his professionalism of handling materials and transforming concepts into solid medium as a sculptor. In that lies his success. Mano's sculptural language, like before, has a combination of figurative semi abstract and surrealistic characteristics. A dominance of surrealistic style is more eminent in this exhibition compared to his previous ones. Organic and inorganic forms blend with the space in perfect harmony creating a sense of visual rhythm that appeals to the spectator.
An absorption of folk art characteristics can be seen in his sculptures. (Buffalo, Centaur, Bird, Kinduriya III) He has concentrated more on one attractive angle on some of his sculptures. By using colours on his sculptures he has emphasized volume, depth and solidity in his work. While creating a simple and pleasing collection of sculptures, he has expressed his endemic, vibrant and energetic quality. He has used a parallel style both in his sculptures and paintings. Accordingly he has given more significance to shapes and forms rather than colour to his paintings. While surrealistic and abstract elements are prevalent in his paintings, figurative symbols show a decline. His free flowing composition of shapes and forms fill up the white background of his canvas, and so, in his paintings too, Mano portrays the characteristics of a sculptor. The writer is Course Director Colombo Academy of Arts. 'My Dry Zone' at Thambapanni by Prasad Abu Bakr Artist Kosala Priyam Kumara's fascination of the dry zone is vitally evident by his present collection of pictures presently exhibited at the Thambapanni which is a restaurant-cum-gallery situated at 496/1, Duplication Road, Colombo 3.
The artist's close observations made in regard to many colour changes that take place in those areas is an eye opener to anybody visiting the dry zone frequently as it is all presented in the form of paintings by Priyam Kumara under one roof according to his imagination. Colours representing the effects that take place to those surroundings under the constant drying up under the scorching sun are conveyed in burnt orange, amber and rust with a touch of green, but a lot of yellow is used probably to convey the glare of the burning sunlight that one would definitely have experienced during a visit to that part of the country during April and the months that immediately follow it.
The rainy seasons are expressed in quite a fresh range from the artist's palette. Green and yellow and the dark brown earth are the result of the rains falling over the barren earth that has been dried by the hot sun over the months before. According to the artist he was also fascinated by the emptiness of the many railway stations within the Anuradhapura city and the ones that are in the suburban towns surrounding it. His paintings are artistic impressions of what he has witnessed as an observer in those areas. What impresses mostly is the artist's approach at explaining himself without much intellectual jargon and the manner in which he has personally enjoyed his work.
His works are straight forward statements that can be enjoyed by everybody who likes to gaze at pictures and paintings without going through the trauma of trying to find the hidden meaning and abstraction that can not be explained. Eventhough one can categorise Priyam Kumara necessarily as a landscape artist, his interpretation of the land around him using many strokes of the brush preserves his individuality. He works independently not as an artist applying a three dimensional finish to his pictures making them appear to look like photographs. His pictures have remained the work of an artist who enjoys interpreting what he sees. 'My Dry Zone' will be on at Thambapanni Gallery until August 31 from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. **** Back **** |
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