A passion for painting

E.R. Soysa hosts his 24th solo exhibition at Paradise Road Galleries

For E. R. Soysa, art and painting has always made him happy. Retiring early from his job as the art consultant at Weyangoda Central just to pursue his passion, Soysa has never regretted a moment spent mixing and matching colours and letting his heart guide his hand on canvas.

Hosting his 24th solo exhibition at Paradise Road Galleries which will be on until 18 August, his art on display are figurative, modern and are in shades of greys, creams and browns. “I believe that I can portray more emotions, the strength of human relationships and strong sentiments such as love, hate and anger through figurative art than traditional art.”

The exhibition is held after a lapse of four years in Sri Lanka. Over the years, Soysa has held exhibitions at least once a year until he took a break after an exhibition in 2008. However in 2011, he conducted a solo exhibition at O.S.D. Galleries Ostersund, Sweden. Over the years he has conducted a number of exhibitions in Sweden, Norway, Netherlands, Japan, India, South Korea, Bangladesh, Bulgaria and Cuba.

Having attended the College of Fine Arts in 1968 at the age of 20, Soysa revealed that he learnt all forms of art, painting and sculpting over a period of five years there. “Art was a form of release for me. I could put into painting what I felt then and there. And as my thoughts change course while I paint and the colours I use help me bring out my feelings,” he said. “This makes me immensely happy. This is why I have continued doing this over the years.”

Although he prefers canvas and oil paints, the exhibition which is currently on at Paradise Road Galleries feature art of mixed media in which he uses cotton, newspaper and a variety of other mediums. “I wanted to do something different.”

Soysa hopes to host a bigger public exhibition next year featuring 30 or more paintings.

Entrance to preview his paintings is restricted to invitees only. Please contact Rhonda on 2582162 and 2556563 for more details.

Pix by Lasantha Kumara