Rasika De Silva, now renowned as one of Sri Lanka's most captivating contemporary artists, unveils his latest exhibition, 'Nature and Culture for Our Future.' A showcase of paintings, that explores the inseparable connection between humanity, nature, and culture. This will be his eleventh solo exhibition and is presented by ‘Sky Gallery’ of the Fareed Uduman Art Forum.

Born in 1967, Rasika De Silva studied art at Kandegoda Maha Vidyalaya, Ambalangoda and went on to Sharadha Kala Nikethanaya in Colombo to complete his Diploma in Fine Arts. After his A/Ls, having come to Colombo for employment, he gradually began to paint. He had a few teachers who taught him the finer points of painting, among them, both Joe Dambulugala and Anura Handunnetti influenced his paintings a lot. A printer by trade, he retired recently after a long stint at Aitken Spence Printing to pursue his love for painting. Rasika’s art is mesmerising.

Amalgamating symbolism, primitivism, and surrealism, while drawing inspiration from ancient paintings like those found in Altamira, Lascaux, Ajanta, and Sigiriya. In all of his paintings, Rasika skillfully portrays the inseparable connection between humanity, nature and culture and the tragic consequences of mankind’s attempts to disrupt this spiritual bond. He also explores the repercussions of this rupture, inviting viewers to contemplate that delicate balance between mankind and the environment. If life inspires him to draw, loneliness inspires him to colour, guiding him to mix, blend and merge the colours for hues and tints that are unique to him.

He says he has done his best during difficult and turbulent times in his life. Those moments helped him express himself better than other periods in his life. He firmly believes that the creativity that comes through pain and suffering, is often more honest than anything else. It is nature that mostly inspires the imagery in his paintings and helps him to express his innermost feelings. Rasika is of the view that the camera creates a challenge to the artist but he overcomes this obstacle by not drawing the visual but painting his thoughts and his feelings. He simply says, “Colour is the language I use to express my feelings.”

Photos courtesy Sky Gallery