Kala Pola Group Art Exhibition in Colombo City
Biggest Open Air Gallery for Paintings Sculpture Honours George Keyt
Feb 5, 2009
From its modest beginnings in 1993, with only 35 artists exhibiting, this year's edition of the Kala Pola saw more than 300 artists and sculptors displaying their "obras maestras." Hundreds of art enthusiasts crisscrossed the lengths of the Ananda Coomaraswamy Street in Colombo City, admiring the spectacular creations laid out before their eyes.
It all started with a genius named George Keyt.
The Life and Works of George Keyt, Peerless Sri Lankan Painter, Sculptor, Poet, Scholar
George Percival Sproule Keyt was born in April 17, 1901, in Kandy, Sri Lanka's hill capital. Molded by his beautiful surroundings and his full acceptance of Buddhism, the young Keyt wrote and painted passionately about his faith. Later on, Keyt published three volumes of poems: Poems, The Darkness, and Image in Absence. He also translated the Gita Govinda, a 12th century epic poem by Sanskrit poet Jayadeva, into English and Sinhala, a remarkable translation enlivened by his own illustrations.
The late 1930s saw him embark on his celebrated mural paintings of the life of Gautama Buddha, on the inner walls of the shrine-room at the Gothami Vihara, a Buddhist temple in Borella, Colombo 8. He was assisted by Manjusri Thero, a Buddhist monk-painter. Professor Anuradha Seneviratna, author of the article, "Gotama Buddha Murals," George Keyt: A Centennial Anthology (2001), wrote that these paintings "represent a landmark in the history of Buddhist art in modern Asia."
In 1943, Keyt became one of the founding members of 43 Group. According to H. A. I. Goonetileke, author of the monograph, George Keyt: A Life in Art (1989), the Group comprised Justin Peiris Deraniyagala, Geoffrey Beling, Harry Pieris, George Claessen, Ivan Peries, Richard Gabriel, Aubrey Collette and Manjusri Thero. They appreciated "the true values and flavour of the native landscape, its people and its regional artistic traditions."
Pablo Neruda, the Nobel Prize-winning poet from Chile, who once resided in Sri Lanka, commented on Keyt's extraordinary creative power by saying, "Keyt, I think, is the living nucleus of a great painter."
The George Keyt Foundation, the John Keells Group, the Kala Pola Group Art Exhibition
To honor the man and his many accomplishments, the George Keyt Foundation was formed to promote the Arts and assist Sri Lankans who are involved in any artistic venture like painters, musicians, writers, and sculptors. The Foundation is headed by Cedric de Silva.
Industry giant John Keells Group, through Director Sumithra Gunesekera and its John Keells Social Responsibility Foundation, has been supporting the massive Kala Pola art exhibition for the last 16 years. Its many initiatives earned the company the award of "Best Corporate Citizen" from the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.
The Kala Pola is fashioned after those open air art galleries or street art fairs constantly held in Europe during the summer months. It has become a lifeline for many budding painters and sculptors who could not get access to regular art galleries. Through this group art exhibition, artists' showpieces get a chance to be exposed to a large number of potential buyers, artists go networking with fellow artists, and art students meet and discuss techniques and styles with the experts. Year-round / Entrance -- free.
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
