Classics from a young artist

Kalakeerthi Edwin Ariyadasa

ART: Upul Jayashantha will hold his maiden solo exhibition of paintings at the Lionel Wendt Art Gallery, Colombo 7 from August 25-27. The exhibition will be open to the public from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Media Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa will open the exhibition on August 25 at 6 p.m.

Classical maturity in the field of painting arrives usually after long years of practice. To achieve that height a creative artist has to travel a considerable distance in his strenuous pilgrimage, in search of perfection or else, a close approach to it.

The sense of proportion, a built-in feeling for aesthetic balance, are assets that should be won, through trial and error. This implies a process of gathering and discarding.

An artist trekking assiduously towards self discovery may initially have false starts. He may take the wrong turning and may have to retrace his steps and begin it all over again.

The upshot of all this is, that, a semblance of high refinement in art, is a gift time confers on the patient creative person who assiduously follows the path leading to the goal he has set for himself.

These preliminary observations form a brief introduction to the work of young artist Upul Jayashantha, who characterises his initial exhibition as "Arunalu" - The Light of Dawn.

Although he communicates a seeming hesitation, when he applies such an expression, to his debut, to my mind, there is hardly any amateurishness in the work he has produced for his first public display.

If you view his paintings closely, you cannot help but feel that he has started from the top. Most of his works exude a classical purity of line, a symmetry of composition and an individuality of colour deployment. All those attributes add up to a surprising classicism with a deep aesthetic appeal.

Figures

Strangely enough, most of the figures he has opted to portray, are female. This is perhaps because the suppleness of the female from appeals to the lyrical feel he brings to his paintings.

The utilisation of the female form in a series of postures akin to dancing, imparts a kind of stylisation to what he portrays. To be exact, in one of his paintings, the females who figure in it are caught in a Bharata Natyam Mudra.

Even when he captures his favourite females who are generally lithe and graceful, in a work-a-day context-like gossiping or bathing - they continue to communicate the impression of stylisation.

In the painting titled "Diyavara" (Water Ritual), the highly contrived composition is pleasingly stylised. The water pots and the manner they are held by the two females, seem very much the segment to a neatly choreographed dance.

Stylised

His piece depicting three women gossiping, is his concession to the everyday life of a community. But there too, he cannot escape the compelling temptation towards stylised visualisation.

In "Devadasi" (the Temple Dancer), lilting rhythms and stylisation are implicit in the theme itself.

He approaches the theme of love, in a piece in which, a man and a woman are in the intimacy of ardour. One could very well surmise that feint echoes of inspiration from moghul miniatures, may have raised a minor ripple in the Artist's soul.

But, Upul Jayashantha's background could not in any way have brought him to a close experience of these classics.

Therefore, the classic touch one could detect in his works, is entirely a product of his personal talent.

Jewellery

Artist Upul Jayashantha, works in a parallel profession. He designs jewellery and takes delight in the craftsmanship that is essential to conjure up dazzling, enticing and alluring designs out of the glowing metal.

His paintings too are jewels in effect, as he works on them with equal assiduousness.

As these two streams merge within Upul Jayashantha, an early classicism emerges to elevate his art to a higher niche.

Upul Jayashantha's early maturity is determined, to a great extent, by the inspiration he has been able to derive from his Guru and Art expert Jayasiri Semage.

Upul Jayashantha's precocious approach to a seeming classicism, is undoubtedly the outcome of his close association with his Guru, whose works would have spoken to young Upul in silent eloquence.

As for Upul Jayashantha, he begins at a considerable height. His development and progressive maturity can come from the personal style he will eventually evolve.

Currently, he seems to be moving towards an oriental idiom of expression. But the influences that will affect him as he progresses will decide, the brand of true maturity he will achieve in time.

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