A canvas of 7 different strokes
When seven artists of different disciplines come together for one exhibition what can you expect? It could be utter chaos or symmetry in diversity; or as the seven artists in question will tell you it could simply turn out to be an interesting meeting of minds.
The teaming of Royden Gibbs with Michael Anthonisz, Noeline Fernando, G.
A painting by K. Wathuwalagedara (inset)
Wathuwalagedara, Amaresh Pereira, Sampath Amunugama and Dinusha Upasena can only mean one thing-you can expect some great work from a seasoned lot. ‘7 Artists’ will have its preview on Friday, February 21, while the exhibition will be open to the public from February 22 to 25.
It was Noeline’s idea to round up some of Sri Lanka’s most well-known veterans and promising young stars; an artist herself, Noeline’s quick smile and easy warmth makes it impossible to resist invitation, especially when she’s pitching such a great idea. “We’re all
 Amaresh Pereira |
 Noeline Fernando |
 Royden Gibbs |
 Sampath Amunugama |
friends,” she shares. “I’ve worked with them, or even better fallen in love with their work at some point. So it’s only natural that we do this.” This exhibition is a grand six or seven years in the making. “Now it’s come to realisation, we’re all running around putting everything together!”
It was partly with Dian Gomes and MAS’ support that she got this off the ground, Noeline will tell you. Even better, she’s managed to land them a fantastic venue on Stratford Avenue. Called ‘Villa 82’, it holds a great deal of nostalgia for the artist who grew up a few houses away. The other six too are clearly delighted at the prospect of a never before-used venue for their work.
At Villa 82 you’ll find 70 pieces handpicked by the organisers. They’ve split it up neatly amongst them, ending up with a round ten per person-a difficult task when you’ve got such a diverse portfolio to choose from. Here they give us an insight into what makes them tick, and the magic that happens when paintbrush touches canvas.
G. Wathuwalagedara last exhibited his work in 2011; since then he’s been indulging in his passion for the love of painting alone. He hopes that these paintings, which he has collated for over two years now, will give the viewer as much pleasure as they’ve given him. But he wouldn’t mind either way. “I paint to satisfy myself. It gives me tremendous pleasure, you know.”
Sampath Amunugama has had a more commercial career, with four solo exhibitions at the Paradise Road Galleries and more at some prestigious venues both locally and internationally. Amunugama hasn’t painted much over the past two years due to personal reasons, so this exhibition is sort of a comeback for the artist. He has chosen a series of haunting faces drifting eerily on canvas, finding inspiration from this to keep at the discipline after his hiatus.
“People who are really into art don’t feel the need to create a superficial reality,” offers Amaresh Pereira. The Kandy artist trained under Professor Ashley Halpe is perhaps one of the most eloquent artists we’ve encountered. Amaresh’s journey over the past few years has been a quest for
Michael Anthonisz and one of his works
refinement, which will reflect in his contribution to the exhibition. In striving for quality the artist is relentless- he took up low country drumming and martial arts to train his mind and body and to polish his expression. This education bears fruit with a depiction of the Ying and Yang, which Amaresh is particularly enamoured with -it’s a philosophical balance he hopes to emulate in his own work.
Michael Anthonisz is a figurative artist who finds that a few simple lines on paper is often all it takes for a thought-provoking image to emerge from the canvas. You’ll find some of his unseen work from the past three decades at this show, together with a selection of new work which he has toiled over for the past few years. In particular, there’s an exercise in analytical cubism which Anthonisz has touched up to introduce movement.
Thirty-four-year-old Dinusha Upasena is the youngest among them, with a Postgraduate Diploma in Architecture defining his work. Dinusha finds himself drifting more and more towards the political and theological aspects of the discipline these days and says he strives to achieve a certain brand of anti-dogmatic expression in his work. At the exhibition you’ll find a striking image of four dancers around a fire-Dinusha owes the almost photographic definition of the artwork to his sister and neighbours, who actually posed for the artist so he might accomplish this. “There’s a lot of thought and legwork that goes into every painting,” he says.
Royden Gibbs, one of the country’s foremost painters in watercolour, will also show his work at this exhibition. While Gibbs is most known for the fine, almost illusionist quality of his watercolours he started out with pastels, a detail he hopes to highlight at this show.
Dinusha Upasena and one of his paintings. Pix by Indika Handuwala
Complimented on the intricacy of his watercolours, he laughingly shrugs it off. “I lead you on, you see. I create an illusion with my brushstrokes-in reality the image is completed in your mind. That’s pure craft.”
And then there’s Noeline, who has found both commercial and critical success with her approachable, everyday brand of art. For Noeline art isn’t just about creating magic on a canvas-it’s also about having an inclusive spirit and being open to new expression which is exactly why she masterminded this particular show. A self-declared beer girl, Noeline created a fascinating female figure made entirely of beer cans years ago, which now resides in her store room. She’s caught between keeping it for herself and dusting it off for the exhibition. We hope she’ll choose the latter-only next week will tell!
‘7 Artists’ will be open to the public from February 22 to 25 at Villa 82, Stratford Avenue. The exhibition is open from 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Entrance is free.