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Dumith Kulasekara is an artist and educator born and raised in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Kulasekara received his initial art education from the University of Visual and Performing Arts in Colombo, and completed an MFA in Painting at the prestigious New York Academy of Art in the US. While studying at the University of Visual and Performing Arts, Kulasekara created a unique aesthetic for himself. He has had two solo exhibitions, both focusing on the subject of trauma, and has also exhibited his work in various group exhibitions in countries including the US, UK and France. He is currently the Head of the Department of Painting at the University of Visual and Performing Arts, Sri Lanka.
Kulasekara belongs to a new second generation of artists following the 90s Trend in the contemporary art scene of Sri Lanka. Having lived through, and witnessed the country’s 30-year ethnic conflict, he largely focuses on its aftermath, and the effect the end of the conflict had on the citizens of Sri Lanka. Trauma as a lived experience, as well as a conceptual lineage in the history of art, locates Kulasekara’s work. His approach adopts the sensations and narratives of trauma as a consequence of conflict. His first solo exhibition titled Exhibition of Trauma (2008) included pieces directly influenced by his personal experience as a child growing up amidst conflict. The trauma of being affected by the socio-political and cultural repercussions of the conflict without fully understanding its circumstances as a child is present in this body of work.
The Symbolical Impossibility of Disavowing Trauma, his second solo exhibition, visually explored the concept of trauma even further. The paintings one sees are of the artist himself, revisited several times alongside his mother and wife. They evoke obvious echoes of the Freudian, and acknowledge the traumatic in relation to experiences associated with gender identity and sexual orientation(s). Kulasekara’s style is also emblematic for its inclusion of floral and phallic imagery, often on a single canvas. Sensuality and sexuality are portrayed as “surreal mindscapes of heightened colour, incongruous figures, and sensual colour and form, which sit awkwardly against tortured and distended bodies” – Josephine Breese writes.
Canvases of vivid and bright colours are Kulasekara’s forte, where colour and imagery become commentary related to human sexuality. He often uses haloed figures that have no identifiable gender identity, and are painted lifeless to depict the absurdity of male power and male chauvinism that prevail in a society embedded in heteropatriarchal ideals.
The work “Crying Masculinity” (2011) exhibited at the Asia House in London has a luminous pink background with haloed figures staring forward with a cat behind them, its head attached to a human body. The figure in the middle is conspicuously male, with his genitalia exposed to the viewer, and he stands out among the crowd, clad in a vibrant outfit of light blue, pink and red hues. “Crying Masculinity” makes a statement about the godlike associations or the god complex placed on the male, and the masculine, in patriarchal society, and the resulting trauma that arises in the human condition. This painting brings into focus Kulasekara’s approach to gender and trauma, as well as conflict caused by the struggle for power.
Kulasekara is a self-proclaimed humanist, whose expressive philosophy brings into focus the importance of collective and individual agency. A stance that is supported by an innate ability for critical thought in his portfolio of work.
| Name of Exhibition | Year | Place |
|---|---|---|
| The Symbolical Impossibility of Disavowing Trauma | 2011 | Harold Peiris Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| Contemporary Art from Sri Lanka | 2011 | Asia House, London, UK |
| Exhibition of Expression of Independence and Serendipity | 2010 | JDA Perera Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| Opening Art Exhibition of JDA Perera Gallery (Academic Staff) | 2010 | JDA Perera Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| Exhibition of Trauma | 2008 | Harold Peiris Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| State Art and Sculpture Festival | 2008 | National Art Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| Expression of Independence | 2008 | The Mona Bismarck Foundation, Paris, France |
| Galle Literary Festival 2008: Galle Art Trail | 2008 | Old Bakery, Galle Fort, Galle, Sri Lanka |
| Exhibition of Sri Lankan Art | 2007 | National Art Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| Nawa kalakaruwo, organized by the George Keyt Foundation | 2007 | National Art Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| Young Contemporaries, organized by the George Keyt Foundation | 2006 | National Art Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| Tsunami DARK-DEC Fundraising Exhibition | 2005 | The Faculty of the Visual Arts, University of the Visual and Performing Arts (UVPA), Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| An Exhibition of Traditional Paintings, organized by the Department of Painting, the Faculty of Visual Arts, University of the Visual and Performing Arts | 2005 | Heywood Gallery, University of the Visual and Performing Arts, Colombo, Sri Lanka |
| State Painting and Sculpture Award Festival | 2005 | National Art Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka |
Other Publicaitons the Artist has been mentioned in |
Ref :DK 1
Title :Crying Masculinity
Signed :Lower Left
Year :2009
Measurements in Cms :121 x 121
Material Used :Acrylic on Canvas
Dimensions in Cms. :121 x 121
Ref :DK 2
Title :Transfiguration
Signed :-
Year :2013-2020
Measurements in Cms :76.2 x 60
Material Used :Oil on Canvas
Dimensions in Cms. :76.2 x 60
Ref :DK 3
Title :A Letter from the Father
Signed :Lower Left
Year :2012-2021
Measurements in Cms :76.2 x 60
Material Used :Oil on Canvas
Dimensions in Cms. :76.2 x 60
Ref :DK 4
Title :Who am I?
Signed :Lower Right
Year :2006
Measurements in Cms :95.5 x 82.5
Material Used :Acrylic on Canvas
Dimensions in Cms. :95.5 x 82.5
Ref :DK 5
Title :Who are We?
Signed :Lower Left
Year :2006
Measurements in Cms :112 x 108
Material Used :Acrylic on Canvas
Dimensions in Cms. :112 x 108
Ref :DK 6
Title :When Masculinity is Dead Femininity?
Signed :Upper Right
Year :2007
Measurements in Cms :110 x 103
Material Used :Acrylic on Canvas
Dimensions in Cms. :110 x 103
Ref :DK 7
Title :Unnamed Creature
Signed :Upper Right
Year :2006
Measurements in Cms :48.5 x 42
Material Used :Oil on Canvas
Dimensions in Cms. :48.5 x 42
Ref :DK 8
Title :Body of Trauma
Signed :Upper Right
Year :2012
Measurements in Cms :76 x 61
Material Used :Oil on Canvas
Dimensions in Cms. :76 x 61
Ref :DK 9
Title :Traumatism
Signed :Lower Right
Year :2006
Measurements in Cms :68.5 x 69
Material Used :Acrylic on Canvas
Dimensions in Cms. :68.5 x 69
Ref :DK 11
Title :Homage to Gustave Courbet for the Pavilion of Realism
Signed :-
Year :2016
Measurements in Cms :194 x 130
Material Used :Oil on Linen
Dimensions in Cms. :194 x 130
Ref :DK 12
Title :Mother and Female Child
Signed :Reverse
Year :2021-2022
Measurements in Cms :91 x 61
Material Used :Oil on Canvas
Dimensions in Cms. :91 x 61
Ref :DK 13
Title :White Skin?
Signed :Upper Left
Year :2016
Measurements in Cms :140 x 80
Material Used :Mixed Media & Japanese Black Ink on Handmade Japanese Paper
Dimensions in Cms. :140 x 80
Ref :DK 14
Title :This is not a Perversion?
Signed :Upper Left
Year :2016
Measurements in Cms :140 x 80
Material Used :Mixed Media & Japanese Black Ink on Handmade Paper
Dimensions in Cms. :140 x 80
Ref :DK 15
Title :A Body without Organs
Signed :-
Year :2016
Measurements in Cms :194 x 130
Material Used :Oil on Linen
Dimensions in Cms. :194 x 130
Ref :DK 16
Title :A Body without Organs I
Signed :-
Year :2016-2022
Measurements in Cms :194 x 130
Material Used :Oil on Linen
Dimensions in Cms. :194 x 130
Ref :DK 17
Title :This is not Called Fur (I)
Signed :Lower Right
Year :2016
Measurements in Cms :16 x 16
Material Used :Ink on Paper
Dimensions in Cms. :16 x 16
| Year | Institute | Qualification |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | New York Academy of Art, New York, USA | MFA |
| 2002-2008 | University of Visual and Performing Arts, Colombo, Sri Lanka | BFA (Hons) in Painting |