Important Notice

Lot 3

The flora and fauna of Sri Lanka's forests are the anchoring theme of Senaka Senanayake's art. A child prodigy, the Colombobased artist is deeply committed to preserving the depleting rainforests of Sri Lanka, many of which were converted into tea estates and rubber plantations during the years of colonial rule. His brightly hued canvases appear deeply spiritual, and evoke unbridled happiness, which is of great importance to the artist.
The flora and fauna of Sri Lanka's forests are the anchoring theme of Senaka Senanayake's art. A child prodigy, the Colombobased artist is deeply committed to preserving the depleting rainforests of Sri Lanka, many of which were converted into tea estates and rubber plantations during the years of colonial rule. His brightly hued canvases appear deeply spiritual, and evoke unbridled happiness, which is of great importance to the artist.

Senanayake's forest scenes depicting birds, animals and insects within close-ups of large leaves and flowers create a dream-like magical realm that is reminiscent of the artist Henri Rousseau. The present lot is painted in the artist's typically cheerful palette and offers a defiant vision of natural beauty to a world dominated by war and strife. "Senanayake's paintings are gorgeously positive, his forests wearing saturated runway colours, his birds right out of an ancient fable. His style is often criticised as being purely aesthetic, but it is by no means emotionally inert. In fact, his work is an ironic reminder of the fading beauty of his world, a hope against hope that whatever is left of nature can be conserved. It is equal parts celebration, elegy and documentation of the fragile rainforests of Sri Lanka." (V Shoba, "Senaka Senanayake: Life Is Beautiful," OPEN, 15 July 2016, online)

"I call myself a happy artist. I paint natural beauty in all its brightest colours, and I want people who view my art to feel uplifted."
- SENAKA SENANAYAKE

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