Canvas from the past to contemporary
View(s):- A walk through KALA exhibitions
KALA, the platform for contemporary South Asian art is enjoying its second week with a thought-provoking programme of talks, artist lectures, round table discussions and exhibitions to celebrate its rich heritage and highlight the region’s potential for further growth.
Two key exhibitions housed at the University of Visual and Performing Arts (UVPA) on Horton Place in Colombo 7 have been attracting a steady stream of visitors. Pivot Glide Echo and the KALA Commune are both within the premises and KALA’s Assistant Curator Mariyam Begum (seen on our Magazine cover) of Pivot Glide Echo leading a group last Wednesday in a curated walk helped visitors gain a deeper understanding of the works on display and their importance in relation to the country’s contemporary art scene. In addition to the works of the guiding lights of the UVPA in its formative years as the Heywood Institute of Art such as J.D.A Perera, David Paynter, Tissa Ranasinghe and Sri Lanka’s father of abstract art, H.A. Karunaratne, the works of contemporary artists such as Jagath Weerasinghe, Tilak Samarawickrema, Pala Pothupitiye, Priyantha Udagedera and T. Shanaathanan effectively portrayed how the arts scene has continued to grow in exciting new directions. This exhibition is supported by the Rukmini Tissanayagam Trust.
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- Canvas from the past to contemporary
The focus was slightly different at the parallel KALA Commune exhibition where on display was the work of seven artists from the South Asian region who had come together for a month-long residency of work and knowledge sharing not just among themselves but with the students of the university. The immersive open studio had lent itself to fruitful collaboration and the works produced by the artists were on display along with some they had brought along.
The technical brilliance of printmaker Seema Sharma Shah from Kathmandu whose etching involves a meticulous intaglio process of incising designs onto a metal plate coated with wax and then submerging it in acid, Chandra Bhattacharjee’s sombre works rooted in nature, the intricate detail of Pakistani artist Ahmed Javed, also Bangladeshi photographer Ahmed Raseel’s subtle images and Pankaj Pawar’s versatile design invited closer reflection. KALA team member Sulakshi Ratnayake led this segment of the walk in the absence of assistant curator Mandira Ranathunga of UVPA.
KALA ends on February 28. Another curated walk happens at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, February 26.
See kalasouthasia.com for full
programme.
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