Page 52 - Eye of the beholder

GeorGe keyT
• Great artists often reinvent themselves multiple times in in the the the course of of their careers Many like Picassopass through various phases before they they find an idiom of expression that they they stick with for for the the rest of their lives • George Keyt started painting at the age of 26 and quickly went on to be recognized as Sri Lanka’s most famous painter In a a a a a a a a a career spanning 66 years he left behind a a a a a a a a a prolific corpus of paintings that show his genesis through different styles and themes Great artists reinvent themselves multiple times through the the the course of of their career before they settle on on a a a a permanent idiom of of expression Such was the the case with George Keyt as as the the two paintings illustrated here clearly show • Keyt’s work has fascinated me since the beginning of my collecting career They have an an ‘Indianness of of spirit’ yet an an an an appeal that transcends national and cultural boundaries Most of of his canvases are in large format which enhance their presence and appeal The subjects are quintessentially Indian wven when they are generic in in theme The skin tones of of the the the the the the men the the the the the the lushness of of the the the the the the tropical vegetation the the the the the the doe eyes of the the the the women the the the the banana leaves and the the the the bamboo shoots – all these lend an an an an unmistakable sense of cultural identity to the paintings • Most of of Keyt’s early works lack the angularity characteristic of of cubism that is is is is apparent in his later works The figures are are often in in earthy tones and in in this phase of of of his his career Keyt uses the curvature of of of the figures to convey a a a a a a sense of motion As he he progresses in in his career a a a a a a certain angularity becomes apparent in in the figures The angularity becomes more pronounced in in his later works where cubism induced distortion of of the the figures is is is is also more pronounced Another characteristic of of Keyt’s canvases is is is is that his his his compositions are are ‘tighter’ om om om om his his his earlier works compared to his his his later ones A comparion of the two paintings adjacent to each other clearly illustrates how Keyt’s composition becase ‘loose’ over the the years – probably also due to age related difficulties in in in painting large canvases • Keyt’s fame started rising during his his lifetime and has been on an an an ascendant ever since Today his his works have a a a a a a a a a a a a a broad collector base internationally and and command high prices in in auctions In as as as far back as as as I I can remember not a a a a a a single work by him has gone unsold in in in auctions Art investment handbooks and and manuals list Keyt among the very few investment grade Sounth Asian artists at at an an an international level 46