A day of art
It’s the experience not the money: T. D. K. Ajith Kumara (top)
‘Art doesn’t sell.’ This is a belief that many have. Artists are discouraged from pursuing a career in art for fear that they would struggle financially and as it’s rather difficult to sell or exhibit art in Sri Lanka, this fear is not completely unfounded.
However, artists at Kala Pola – the annual open air art fair organised by the George Keyt Foundation and John Keells Holdings would probably beg to differ. Although there were mixed results for the many artists, most felt that their works were moving fairly fast.
Acrylic and oil paintings were generally selling fastest, with many homeowners buying pieces for interior decoration, while watercolours and other mediums were rarer and selling at varying rates. Sculptures also sold fairly well – with many buying them for interior decor.
One of the most unique items on sale at the Kala Pola on Green Path last Sunday, were the assembled art pieces – figures made of spare parts, usually pieces of metal which are welded together to form the final product.
Many of the assembled art pieces were figures of animals and seemed to be something which art graduates gravitated towards creating.
W.W.M. P. Rajapaksha’s assembled work of a dog
These art pieces piqued everyone’s interest but didn’t sell as fast as the other mediums due to the high prices. But for artists such as W.W.M. P. Rajapaksha it was a prime opportunity for him to promote his work and Kala Pola gave him a platform to create interest in his pieces which has in past years led to an increase of commissions.
At the moment he is working on a six foot giraffe for a client he met at Kala Pola a few years ago. Other sculptures include a rooster with a torch for a body and a pair of pliers for the beak.
The fitting together of the parts involves a lot of skill and he even manages to convey individual characteristics onto his animals.
Unusual art was hidden among the usual fare, waiting to be discovered by the discerning buyer. One such creation was the wall sculpture which looked like a cross between a wood carving and a painting.
The ‘carving on a painting’ effect had been created by combining wood dust and glue to form a paste which could then be used to mould figures that look like wood carvings but can fit into frames which can be hung on a wall.
Nisansala Wickramasinghe from Peradeniya, a French teacher by profession, creates masks out of clay pots by painting faces on them with bright colours.
Although not a professional artist, Nisansala usually sells her creations at Kala Pola and sometimes exhibits her work at art exhibitions in Kandy. “My masks have been immensely popular because they aren’t priced too steeply – each one is around Rs. 3500 and everyone really likes them.
A regular at Kala Pola: The lady of the masks, Nisansala Wickramasinghe
This means that parents can buy them for their children and anyone can buy one just on a whim as well,”she says with a smile.
Although most of the art had been created with a specific market in mind, some artists attended the fair for the sheer satisfaction they received from exhibiting their wares.
This included T. D. K. Ajith Kumara, who came all the way from Matara and booked two stalls just so he could display his work – which he usually does not sell. For him Kala Pola was all about the experience and not about the money.
“My house looks like a gallery because my work and the work of my father and my siblings are all used to decorate the house and we came here to have an opportunity to exhibit it all,” he says.
Whether you are an avid art lover or someone who wants just a glimpse of contemporary Sri Lankan art, Kala Pola had something for everyone and most people found that they enjoyed spending time at the fair – whether they were selling, buying or just admiring the art on display.
