Senior Art Director in a leading art firm, Dayan Kotachchi has been immersed in art most of his life. His second solo exhibition “Sankalana II” which opened at the Lionel Wendt Gallery on September 11 and will continue till tomorrow, (14th) sees him take us on a journey of the familiar, depicting scenes from Sri Lankan life and exploring the beauty of the ordinary.
Each painting is a reflection of local life, people and places. Dayan explains that he “…wanted people to see the paintings and connect with it instantly, to think ‘I’ve been there..’ or ‘I’ve seen that person…’ and to just be able to see the ordinary with new eyes…”
His work is all in oils for Dayan feels that most artists don’t explore the full potential of this medium. Many feel that oil painting limits your scope and inhibits your subject matter, but Dayan proves these critics wrong.
Dayan hopes to teach promising young artists one day so that he can pass on his knowledge and experience. He rightly observes that Sri Lanka’s environment is still not fluid enough to give artists the spotlight and support that they deserve. “As a developing country we tend to set our sights on technical measurements, when evaluating the quality of life rather than the arts.
But what is a society, a culture, without its art?” he asks. He hopes that soon this will change and that his work helps in some small way to bring about that change. |
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