Art exhibition in Colombo: On Chaminda Gamage's trail

An exhibition of paintings by Chaminda Gamage at Barefoot Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka, which intentionally drops the title, brings under one roof 30 recent works by the artist who has been active in the local art scene since the 1980s. From September 8th to October 2nd, 2011, the gallery played host to a display where the works done on papers intersected with some conceptually-framed presentations providing a glimpse into the artist's current engagement with form, evidencing a tendency to base his compositions on the universal appeal of patterns.
Recognized as an upcoming artist in the Colombo art circle since the early 1990s, Chaminda has variously been expressing the desire to find a voice of his own, and by the time he had won the State Award for Outstanding Painter of the Year in1996, his destiny was sealed as a creative artist inclined to align the individual inclinations with the local cultural traits captured in fragments.

Apart from devising his own solo exhibitions at home, Chaminda has been busy filling out august venues abroad where his work has been featured. He is a founder member of 'Colombo Artists-?', a well-known meeting point for artists in Sri Lanka, a place to interact and reassess their stance, both artistically and intellectually, in lieu of the changing tide of the time. His role as an art organizer has splintered into many different facets. He was one of the curators of Colombo Art Biennale 2009, Sri Lanka.
Chaminda earned a Bachelor's of Fine Arts in painting from the Institute of Aesthetic Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, in 2000, and he topped it with a Master's of Arts in Mass Communication from the same university, in 2004.

- DEPART DESK