Kaze No Iro | Ruwan Prasanna

KAZE NO IRO RUWAN PRASANNA

Bathed in deep azure, rich yellows and lush greens, Kaze no Iro is Ruwan Prasanna’s ode to the fickle, and unpredictable nature of wind. Prasanna’s uplifting palette captures the buoyant mood evoked by the passing wind as it jostles playfully, on its route to an undefined destination. The series is a celebration of the transient phenomenon of nature that makes itself visible as it ruffles tree leaves into wakefulness and stirs up dust to cause a commotion.

Ruwan Prasanna, 2023, Kaze No Iro I, Acrylic on Canvas, 244 cm x 244 cm

Ruwan Prasanna, 2023, Kaze No Iro II,

, Acrylic on Canvas, 244 cm x 488 cm

Ruwan Prasanna, 2023, Kaze No Iro III, Acrylic on Canvas,122 cm x 244 cm

Ruwan Prasanna, 2023, Kaze No Iro IV, Acrylic on Canvas,153cm x 138 cm

Ruwan Prasanna, 2023, Kaze No Iro V, Acrylic on Canvas,138 cm x 153 cm

Ruwan Prasanna, 2023, Kaze No Iro VI, Acrylic on Canvas,180 cm x 360 cm

Kaze no Iro conjures the reckless and breathtaking beauty of the wind - gentle and caressing yet fiercely powerful.

Carrying the sweet scent of spring on its breeze or the heralding of the incoming storm as it twists the palm groves into a frenzy, it is an occurrence of nature that inspires awe. Imagined through its many incarnations, the series explores the poetry spun through the interaction of the wind with the natural realm - as it shifts in its form between a gentle breeze and an untamed gale.

Ruwan Prasanna, 2023, Kaze No Iro VII, Acrylic on Canvas,183 cm x 224 cm

Ruwan Prasanna, 2023, Kaze No Iro VIII, Acrylic on Canvas, 366 cm x 138 cm

Ruwan Prasanna, 2023, Kaze No Iro IX, Acrylic on Canvas,183 cm x 138 cm

The artist’s rhythmic brushstrokes wind into spirals that escape away from the canvas. The limitations of the frame give way to the immense rush of wind - dissolving into an illusion of expanse. The series presents a creative progression in the artist’s signature haptic, gestural brushwork as he experiments with movement and colour to overwhelm and inspire astonishment. Prasanna builds on the scintillating play of colours from Aluyama, his previous exhibition, to picture the evanescent traces made by the wind. It invites the viewer to follow the trajectory of the colour and move along with it.

Ruwan Prasanna, 2023, Kaze No Iro X, Acrylic on Canvas,183 cm x 183 cm

Ruwan Prasanna, 2023, Kaze No Iro XI, Acrylic on Canvas, 224 cm x 150 cm

Ruwan Prasanna, 2023, Kaze No Iro XII, Acrylic on Canvas, 186 cm x 183 cm

Kaze no Iro is an attempt to memorialise nature’s intangibility onto canvas and to relive its enchanting beauty. The artist’s attempt to make invisible forms of nature more perceptible presents a longing to reconnect with nature and revel in the magnificent spectacles it offers. The engagement with the ephemeral becomes a way to cajole our senses into recalling brief, inexplicable exchanges with nature - one that offers a temporary respite from the chaos of urbanity and makes us seek refuge in nature’s healing embrace.

Ruwan Prasanna, 2023, Kaze No Iro XIII, Acrylic on Canvas, 122 cm x 92 cm

Ruwan Prasanna, 2023, Kaze No Iro XIV, Acrylic on Canvas, 83 cm x 70 cm

Ruwan Prasanna, 2023, Kaze No Iro XV, Acrylic on Canvas, 86 cm x 80 cm

Ruwan Prasanna, 2023, Kaze No Iro XVI, Acrylic on Canvas, 132cm x 132cm

Ruwan Prasanna, 2023, Kaze No Iro XVII, Acrylic on Canvas, 62 cm x 62 cm

Ruwan Prasanna, 2023, Kaze No Iro XVIII, Acrylic on Canvas, 108 cm x 108 cm

Ruwan Prasanna, 2023, Kaze No Iro XIX, Acrylic on Canvas, 76 cm x 76 cm

Ruwan Prasanna, 2023, Kaze No Iro XX, Acrylic on Canvas, 153cm x 216 cm

RUWAN PRASANNA b. 1980 EDUCATION 2010 – 2013 Vibhavi Academy of Fine Arts - Institute for Sri Lankan Art, Kotte, Sri Lanka

2007 Kala Pola | Organised by The George Keyt Foundation, Colombo, Sri Lanka 2007 Exhibition of Young Contemporaries | Harold Peiris Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2007 World Tourism Day | Bentota Beach Hotel, Bentota, Sri Lanka 2006 Kala Pola | Organised by The George Keyt Foundation, Colombo, Sri Lanka

2021 Aluyama | Saskia Fernando Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka

2006 Exhibition of Young Contemporaries | Harold Peiris Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka

2019 Twilight | Paradise Road Galleries, Colombo, Sri Lanka

2005 Kala Pola | Organised by the George Keyt Foundation, Colombo, Sri Lanka

2017 Komorebi | Saskia Fernando Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka

2005 Kala Pola | Organised by The George Keyt Foundation, Colombo, Sri Lanka

2015 Landscapes | Paradise Road Galleries, Colombo, Sri Lanka 2013 Landscapes | Saskia Fernando Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka 2011 Paradise Road Galleries | Colombo, Sri Lanka 2010 Paradise Road Galleries | Colombo, Sri Lanka

GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2013 Contemporary Landscapes | Saskia Fernando Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka 2011 Kala Pola | Organized by The George Keyt Foundation, Colombo, Sri Lanka 2011 Group Exhibition | Art way Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka 2010 Group Exhibition | Art way Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka 2010 Group Exhibition | Park Street Hotel, Colombo, Sri Lanka 2009 Group Exhibition | Artway Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka 2008 State Festival Exhibition of Painting & Sculpture | National Art Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka 2007 Ogilvy ‘Other side’ Exhibition | Barefoot Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka 2007 State Festival Exhibition of Painting & Sculpture | National Art Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka 2007 Group Exhibition | Sharika Gallery, Cinnamon Grand Hotel, Colombo, Sri Lanka

2005 Exhibition of Young Contemporaries | Harold Peiris Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka 2004 Tsunami Exhibition | Organized by Bates, Slave Island Railway Station, Colombo, Sri Lanka 2004 Exhibition of Young Contemporaries | Harold Peiris Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka 2004 Kala Pola | Organized by The George Keyt Foundation, Colombo, Sri Lanka

RUWAN PRASANNA B. 1980 Ruwan Prasanna's (b. 1980, Sri Lanka) paintings demonstrate a simplicity animated by his expertise in capturing the transitory interplay of light and color in nature, as well as the artist's lyrical sense of color inherited from the Post-Impressionists. The thick and obvious impasto of the paint brings emphasis to the texture of Ruwan's work, playing with the viewer's tactile senses. Feeling and ephemerality are central to the artist’s work. He places atmosphere at the forefront, distancing himself from the tired figurativeness of traditional landscape painting. Ruwan graduated (2013) from Vibhavi Academy of Fine Arts - Institute for Sri Lankan Art, Kotte, Sri Lanka. His work has been exhibited at various solo and group shows in Sri Lanka such as at Paradise Road Galleries, Harold Pieris Gallery, the George Keyt Foundation and Saskia Fernando Gallery. His works belong to important local and international private collectors including the Galle Face Hotel, Paradise Road, Taru and Villas.

SASKIA FERNANDO GALLERY