Chathuranga Biyagama is a highly skilled and experienced Sri Lankan artist who has had international exposure. Biyagama is now into art full time, and is confident and has so much to share with anyone interested in art.
Daily News spoke to Biyagama who recently attended the 18th Asian Art Biennale in Bangladesh, which according to him was a tremendous experience for any young artist. He has taken part in the Asian Art Biennale, Dhaka, Bangladesh 2014 and 2016 as well. In 2003 he could not participate, yet sent his paintings to the Biennale.
Different cultures
“The 2018 Asian Art Biennale was massive. In Sri Lanka, you cannot see such a big collection of artworks. Once you participate in that, you can see where you stand. You can see different cultures coming together. I was very excited. It was a huge event because participating countries are now growing,” said Biyagama.
Biyagama noted that the enthusiasm and the interest in this Biennale are increasing. There was a representation from countries including Italy, Spain, Germany, Australia, China and Japan. This event is very important and relevant to our times. When you particulate in such events it opens your eyes to what is going on in the rest of the world and you develop insights. He commented that the idea is to soon make it an international Art Biennale with the Government of Bangladesh inviting European countries. So the next target is to invite 100 countries that go beyond Asia.
Biyagama was a student of many fields and a graduate in Business Management and Strategic Marketing and holds a Bachelor of Law LLB degree and worked in the finance industry and banking for 10 years. Last year he decides to take the risk and resigned from his full-time job to pursue art. He had an interest in art from childhood and took part in competitions and won awards. This was partly because as he matured, he came to realize with all his travelling, that there is a huge potential in Arts outside Sri Lanka. So he decided to learn more about art and developed his talents in art.
International events
Biyagama is busy as a bee now and is making full use of his talents and his experience by holding exhibitions. So far he has represented Sri Lanka for 10 international events and has held two Solo Exhibitions in Sri Lanka, three exhibitions in England and last year he participated in the Amsterdam International Art Exhibition in the Netherlands.
“Now I am 35 years old and I started art at age of five. My talent in Arts first started to manifest itself from my childhood. So it is a passion that I have had since childhood. And now my passion has led me to become a full-time artist who takes his profession very seriously. This is the way I express my inner self. Now I take part in foreign exhibitions happening in many parts of the world. I am now seeking opportunities outside Sri Lanka and I compete with foreign artists as well,” explained Biyagama.
Biyagama is convinced that if the quality of your work is good, and if you have the talent and you are willing to put in the hard work, there are opportunities.
International forums
Now he is working for a small movement called ‘Artist Development Movement’. The theme is taking Asian art talent to international forums. Now he is dealing with some upcoming Sri Lankan artists and upcoming University passes out students from Bangladesh and India, in the hope of introducing them to the high-end artist forums in USA, Europe and Japan. He is trying to give them the opportunities that will help them succeed.
Biyagama forms so many contacts in his travels. He meets these University students at foreign events and through this networking, they get to know each other. So be provides opportunities and guidance.
“My ambition in life is to take art beyond Sri Lanka. I am now doing five exhibitions a year -London, Amsterdam, Tokyo and Dubai. I have developed my career without outside funding and did not seek government aid. But we need to also understand that governments have other major problems to sort out in a country. So I would like to think that I have done my part to take Sri Lankan art to International standard. I am well known internationally. I want to introduce more Sri Lankan and Asian people to these international art forums and show that there are potential and talent in our countries. There are a lot of capable people in our region,” pointed out Biyagama.
Now his bread and butter is his art. When he was in the finance industry he was able to earn the money for his artwork.
“But now I am selling my paintings and I have international buyers and there are galleries and collectors who buy my work. So now I find my funds through art. I do not worry about my resources and I am fully focused on my work, and if our work is good there will be a market and there will always be a demand. I normally go for simple themes which are not political. Art should be very simple and beautiful. People who see my work need to understand the theory behind that. It is normally about human life. Sometimes the woman is a subject of my themes,” explained Biyagama.
Add new comment