Jul 10 2014.
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Golden Dawn - Contemporary artist Dila Weerasinghe’s new exhibition
It takes only the briefest survey of Dila Weerasinghe’s oeuvre to see that she brazenly defies the compartments into which artists usually slot their styles. One might have thought that there are only so many ways in which acrylic pigments could be applied to a canvas, but she shows that one would be wrong. She is not averse to obtaining a heavenly glow from gold acrylic, mixing gum into her paint to give it texture, or adding leaves or even quills of real cinnamon to give her subjects depth and life. In a nutshell, it is art like you probably have never seen before, and it is some art: neither abstract nor just representational, an evocative blend of the aesthetic with the daring.
Time and again Dila reaches into the depths of her creativity to produce the most magical effects that leave the observer wondering, how on earth did she do that? The 35 paintings to be displayed in Golden Dawn, her forthcoming exhibition billed for display at the Lionel Wendt on 18-20 July, to which we were allowed a sneak peek, will cause you to ask that question again and again.
Born in 1970, Dila Weerasinghe, an alumna of Bishop’s College, Colombo, was led by her creative genes from a very early age. Having chosen to express her creativity initially through design, she was recruited as a trainee by May Department Stores Inc, then a leading US retailer, and cut her teeth in merchandising when aged just 19. Her talent and ability were recognized and she soon found herself climbing the ranks to get to senior positions in merchandising, in which she served for five years. Meanwhile, Dila undertook a course in art & design in Virginia and returned to her job. Before long she found herself in product development & design, and merchandising simultaneously.
Amidst this endless frenzy Dila continued to find time for her own creative urges, taking to pen-and-ink drawing and choosing as her subjects just about anything that took her fancy. Having decided to branch out on her own, in 1998 she teamed up with a friend to set up Prime Visions, a company to design and manufacture garments for both the local and international markets. Soon her garments were retailing at a number of prestigious local stores including Odel, Cotton Collection and House of Fashions, while also being exported to the UK, Norway and the Maldives.
In 2004 Dila quit work in order to devote more time to her family and, of course, to her art, though later serving as a consultant to Odel design & development and Brandix stock lots. Together with a partner she now operates Bella Festa, a floral-and-ambiance company that designs and creates weddings and corporate functions. And she paints.
It then so happened that she met a fellow artist, Charmaine Mendis, at a photography exhibition. Soon she found Mrs Mendis to be an able and gifted guide through the world of art. Aunty Charmaine, as Dila has known her from her childhood, not only led her to her mentor, Karunasiri Wijesinghe, but invited Dila to join the weekly art class she held at her home. Here, Dila is the first to admit, she worked with a number of different methods: pencil-on-paper, pen-and-ink on paper, and ink on canvas. Aunty Charmaine took her duties as guide very seriously, often phoning Dila to remind her of forthcoming classes and regularly checking on her output. For his part, Karunasiri Wijesinghe, her modest and ever so persuasive mentor, unobtrusively guided Dila to experiment with new ideas, never seeking to stifle her creativity.
The paintings themselves are breathtaking. They have been composed in a way that they represent complete, independent works of art though Dila concedes that some owners might prefer, depending on the size and ambience of the room, to have their painting set on a board covered with, for example, a canvas or silk backing. Alternatively, they could be framed so as to provide boundaries and depth.
In 2011 Dila teamed up with Charmaine Mendis and Minha Mahushukeen to show her work at Vruksha (tree), a joint exhibition of black & white drawings of trees. The outstanding success of this event provided just the boost of confidence she needed to work towards an exhibition of her own. This exhibition, then, is that exhibition.
The art exhibition will be held on 18th 19th & 20th of July from 9 am to 8 pm at the Lionel Wendt memorial art centre, Colombo 7.
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Willie and Cheryl Weerasekers says:
Jul 12, 2014 at 12:00 amHaving had the privilege of seeing the very first Dial did for this exhibition and the ease with which she creates these wonderful pieces we are only sorry we are unable to be in colombo for this event. As much as the beauty of her work her unassuming nature is a rear feature in people so talented. Congrads Dila. A/Cheryl and U/Willie in San Francisco