from the hearts eye
Ariyadasa Kandege says that color makes happiness and happiness is the symphony of life.
Kandege, 57, who paints the world from his heart's eye, uses color, emotion and memory to create his postrnodern pictures which usually depict objects from his homeland of Sri Lanka as well as geographical aspects in his current residence of Essen, Germany. Considering the world around him with optimism, cheerfulness, Buddhist serenity and a sense of romantic idealization, Kandege has found his niche with a style that deviates from the true postmodern genre.
"In a world where postmod- ern art has to be seen as ugly, provocative, negative, repulsive, perverse and chaotic in order to have a chance of attracting museum directors and art crit- ics, I fry to illustrate the reality of life in everyday with vitality and richness of color," Kandege said.
He paints voluptuous Sri Lankan women, farmers,-fami- lies in their humble homes and aerial views of German cities and landmarks.
Kandege has always been drawn to art as a way to express his joys and sorrows. Growing up in Sri Lanka, he saw the poverty and other difficulties his family and friends dealt with daily without losing their appreciation and gratitude for the beauty of life.
Even though Kandege wanted to be an artist, it wasn't feasible for his family to send him to art school at the university. It would have cost too much money.
So Kandege decided to work at sea He thought this would allow him to grow. In a way it did. "I was so homesick and sad, I began painting my home of Sri Lanka," he said.
People began to notice his work, and he gained confidence. He often admired the work of Paul Gaugin.
"Gaugin is an excellent teacher of how art should be done," he said. But Kandege also thought Gaugin's women should look more feminine. So he focused on that in his own work.
Kandege eventually began working at a hotel, where he met a man who offered him a job at a big hotel in Germany. He accepted and learned the trade. He was also able to obtain a degree in hotel management in Germany from the University of Düsseldorf.
He fell in love with Germany, especially its political system, lack of corruption and its health-care and education systems. These were all pleasant changes from Sri Lanka.
Kandege moved to Essen, Germany. Once again, he took a job in a hotel and continued to paint.
He began winning awards for his work and was asked to paint aerial views of Essen and sur- rounding cities. In order to do this, he flies above the cities in a zeppelin. He takes photographs to use as a basis for his paintings.
"The European Union has named Essen a cultural capi- tal of Europe for 2010. This is expected to bring the city inoney to develop its music, dance and theater resources.
"People will come from all over Europe to partake in these ultimate cultural experiences," he said.
Kandege will be doing artwork for the occasion.
Along his journeys in th early 1990s Kandege met a kindred spirit from Sri Lanka who also lived in Essen. Her name was Anusha Kutzner. She would eventually move to Santa Fe with her husband, Joerg, and their daughter, Shani.
His deep friendship with her has brought him to Santa Fe, where he will exhibit his art at first National Bank of Santa Fe's Eldorado branch through June 29.
"We love to have art exhib- its here at the bank" personal banker Corrine Anaya said of Exotic Colours Symphony Of Life.
"Ihe pictures add a lot of color, and our customers get really excited when they walk in and see the artwork on the walls," said Julie Montoya, customer service manager for the bank.
These art exhibits are a great way for the community to learn about different artists in the community and around the world."
Published in The New Mexican El Dorado Edition on 2007-06-13.
