Exhibition Review:

By May F. Yee

A drenching thunderstorm an hour before, blessed the opening at the Lionel Wendt gallery, at 6pm, Friday, January 6. But the climes did not deter large numbers from attending. People of all ages viewed the Fareed Uduman paintings, including many visitors from Australia and England. From the baby in grandma’s arms to our 85-year-old aunt, all appeared mesmerized by the paintings. Timely enough, Aunt Doreen’s favourite was Old Man in the Storm and mine Storm.

Most visitors to the Lionel Wendt were seeing Uduman’s original paintings for the first time. Many art lovers, until this exhibition (only the 3rd over almost 20 years), had not even earlier heard of this late artist of Colombo. Admirers calling him unique in the local art scene; some have even referred to Uduman as Sri Lanka’s unknown Picasso.

32-1Though claiming no expertise, I appreciate a wide range of art, seen from all over the world and known to many in the art world. Yet, I’ve always been puzzled by much of the more ‘abstract’ or extreme forms of ‘contemporary’ art, like those multimillion dollar paintings of giant stripes hanging in many national galleries worldwide.

Where Angels Fear

I remember going to a Toronto exhibition with my nephew, then only seven years old. The huge canvases of stick-like paintings high above us, were selling for over $100,000. At first glance, my nephew shouted loudly: “Hey I could do that!” (My reflexive response, following embarrassed glances ensuring the artist was not around, was silent chiming laughter) Without getting into the political economy and complex social relations of the art world, or experts analyses of technique, precision, influences, etc. - most peoples response to art is on the basis of beauty and meaning.

I’m ever amazed by the boundless beauty found in nature, especially after coming from urban Canada to live in lovely Lanka. Even living in the city here I’ve learned to stop to admire a simple leaf or intricate flowers, or glorious crowns of huge old trees found along many Colombo avenues. I’ve always wondered, why with so much beauty before our eyes if we only look, more art could not be more simply beautiful, through nature’s inspiration all around us. Of course, also understanding there is so much man-made destruction and suffering in this world, making other inspirational sources even more powerful.

Fareed Uduman’s art at times seems to combine life’s extremes and contradictions, blending divine beauty and its opposing forces. His paintings are very “different” (a comment heard repeatedly, in a positive way), for he was a very private artist but with a deep sense of social justice. His paintings were often of people, women and men working, or animals like bulls also at labour. The inner workings of layers of ideas and emotions, including sensuality, are also (often ‘stormily’) revealed. The paintings are full of contrasting colours, light and shadow, passion and joy mixed with murkier emotions. Perhaps many people, like me, respond to art because the artist so powerfully combines beauty and meaning.

A lack of words

Certain paintings capture your attention immediately, then keep you enthralled mulling over what might lurk ‘between the lines.’ Fareed is truly an artist whose work is not only visually beautiful but also has something to say. Each picture could inspire the telling of whole stories of so much more than a thousand words. Lovely aspects of nature intersperse humanity, like in Girl with King Coconut, the huge thambili held like a light luminous in the centre. Then if you look carefully at the corners of the painting, evocative vines and limbs of flora and fauna peek through.

Zhu Li (Julie), originally from Shanghai and on holiday from Melbourne with her Lankan fiancé, said paintings like of the woman Podi Cutting Kankung helped her to understand more about local life, capturing scenes she might otherwise pass by without noticing on her first visit to the island. Sheruza, a grandniece of the artist also visiting from Australia, described the art as “very close to life” Saying the Udumans are a very creative family, she was still very pleasantly surprised by this until-now unknown side of her granduncle, she had met long ago.

I heard many people express disbelief that Uduman had received no formal art training, and how the paintings reveal sheer talent and vivid expressiveness. In vibrant colours the eye-catching images of people and everyday urban scenes, at closer examination brim with fascinating details and not-so-hidden subliminal meanings.

A book to treasure

The original paintings are not for sale, although canvas prints are available on order. On show, were also, three paintings not in the book; the first displayed, being a strikingly beautiful portrait of one of the artist’s daughters, Ampi, found later on the back of another painting. After the artist’s death, his son Jomo lovingly put together the volume of colour paintings, including humorous political cartoons and perceptive poems. The book’s 37 colour reproductions and other contents provide for much enjoyment and study, allowing careful perusal of the artist’s wide-ranging provocative work. The book is available, for Rs.1,000, at major bookshops and through the informative and vivid website: http://fareeduduman.com/

If you missed the exhibition of original paintings at the Lionel Wendt, you can still visit the website anytime and check them out. It’s a wonderful chance to explore something “different” in Sri Lankan art, full of life, thought and feeling. In a world full of too much hard-to-look-at uncertainty and seemingly futile conflict, we could all use such chances to find more beauty and meaning.