Ravi Kalubowilage’s art exhibition on the 1st floor of Lionel Wendt Art Centre from February 21 to 23. The opening ceremony will be on February 21, at 4 p.m.
An artist friend sent me an invitation for an art exhibition with a note saying ‘This is special. The artist is a cancer patient. So please visit if you can.’ I wanted to find out more but was informed that the artist, Ravi Kalubowilage was too frail to engage in an interview.
Hence, I spoke to his friend. “All the paintings were done while he was in bed with the illness: some of them while he was hospitalized. Ravi is an exceptionally talented person. But right now he is too weak to give interviews or engage in any promotional activities. This is why we are helping out,” Krishan, Ravi’s friend said.
Ravi Kalubowilage had his primary education at the Keragala Madya Maha Vidyalaya but discovered his passion and aptitude for art later at the Pannipitiya Dharmapala Vidyalaya. It was during those years at Dharmapala that he had been able to develop his forte in various media and techniques. Ravi later met Mr. Ranatunge, the then Director of Education at Isurupaya who had helped him to further his artistic pursuits by allowing him to teach art to younger students in the school. During this time Ravi had won multiple awards and accolades nationally and internationally, especially, in India, Japan, Czechoslovakia, Finland, Korea and Russia among many other countries. Although Ravi had aspired to gain his tertiary education in art, he had not had the privilege as his family had wanted him to take up another stream of subjects for his higher studies. After his higher education Ravi had worked as an Assistant Director for the film Sihina Deshayak and then joined the advertising industry as a 3D and Graphic Designer.
Within a decade Ravi’s exceptional creative ability had enabled him to reach the position of Creative Director in prominent local and global entities. Throughout his industrial endeavours Ravi’s true passion for fine art had been unwavering. He had learnt many techniques on his own and recently had learnt oil painting from Vishwanatha Thenuwara. According to Ravi, this upcoming exhibition is a testament to his nostalgia of a simpler society in which he was able to build his strong character on the foundations of wholesomeness, diversity, inclusivity, and unity in his hometown, Keragala.
“I feel that development in the guise of new infrastructure and commercialization has its limitations. True evolution or sustainable development lies with how people think: their attitudes and values.
It is only if we respect and care for each other and for the surrounding environment that we could grow as a nation,” Ravi had described the underlying concept for his paintings.