Leaving his ego behind and finding his soul
View(s):Duvindi Illankoon catches up with Sanjeewa Kumara as his newest series of paintings ‘Infinity World’ shows at the Paradise Road Galleries
The painting goes on until Sanjeewa Kumara feels ‘soul’ on his canvas—till it embodies a life of its own, layer upon layer of paint will be slapped on. “It’s like raising a child,” he grins. Hailing from Kegalle, Sanjeewa’s work is firmly grounded in that quintessential cross hybrid between Eastern and Western. The 40-year-old artist signs his work off as Sanji, an unpretentious name reflective of his easy smile and warmth.
Two paintings: The rainbow tree of life started to fly and (inset left) Uncanny personality
When we meet him at the Paradise Road Galleries, he’s already on home turf. “This is my students’ work you know,” he says proudly, pointing out that metal beast of a sculpture near the pond amongst others. Sanjeewa, we find out, is a visiting lecturer at the University of Kelaniya where he imparts his knowledge of painting, sculpture and mixed media.
It’s a long way to come for a young student from Kegalle who learnt to love art from his parents-his father was an art teacher. “I was lucky to have parents who understood and appreciated my dreams,” he smiles. With their encouragement he studied Art for his Advanced Level’s, earning the opportunity to attend the Institute of Aesthetic Arts for his Bachelor of Fine Arts (Painting). His university education is something he will cherish for the rest of his career, he says.
Education taught him to appreciate art. “As an artist, it’s not enough to just produce some work and leave it at that. You have to be willing to leave your ego at the door and learn.” For this Sri Lanka too must build an environment conducive to nurturing her talent, he points out. “We have very few galleries; none are dedicated exclusively to a certain form of art.” And the ones that do exist are falling apart at the seams, as a recent foray into Colombo’s public art galleries have revealed, he said.
Following his BA, he travelled to Europe in 1999, coming home five years later with another diploma and a Masters under his belt. In Europe he gained exposure, taking part in several group exhibitions with a smattering of solo exhibitions as well.
Sanjeewa Kumara
Confronted with his constantly evolving work Sanjeewa struggles to define his artistic style. “It’s not easy for me to establish boundaries like that,” he says. “I find that my work is invariably a hybrid of different forms and styles. For example I would draw a woman in a saree-that’s traditional. But then I’d give her an extra limb and have her imposed on a background of abstract shapes.” He’s a great fan of this marriage between the Eastern and the Western; much of his work centres on distinctly Oriental characters, yet they are found in a classically Western background.
The figures in the paintings languorously float in a world of shifting shapes and illusions so you wouldn’t believe Sanjeewa when he says there’s mathematics to his work. This is thanks to a technique called the Golden Ratio; a rather convoluted mathematical concept used in painting.
Catch a glimpse of the artist’s mind this week, with his newest series of paintings ‘Infinity World’ on at the Paradise Road Galleries until May 22.
Follow @timesonlinelk
comments powered by Disqus