I want art in my home, on my walls
With Sri Lanka’s celebrated open air art fair Kala Pola, reaching a landmark year, art buyer Suresh Dominic talks of how he built his collection
Suresh Dominic is one of Sri Lanka’s passionate collectors of art. Though his professional background is in IT, having received his BSc in Mathematics and Computing from the South Bank University in London and he is a consultant for Interblocks, a multinational financial software company in addition to holding board positions in various companies, it is Suresh’s love for the arts that we find most interesting.
Enter his home gallery and you’re bound to be taken by surprise. Two apartments spill over with every kind of conceivable creative expression, with his walls coated from floor to ceiling with the great Sri Lankan masters, beginning with the 43’ Group and continuing into a range of contemporary pieces. He points proudly to his collection, naming the artists… Pala Pothupitiya, Hashan Cooray, Raja Segar, George Keyt…
Suresh’s collection has been growing over 25 years since he purchased his first piece at Kala Pola for Rs. 20,000 at the time. Many collectors buy
paintings for the value of the art itself, but Suresh by his own admission, is hooked on creativity and finding the hidden meaning behind each painting. “You need to see it,” he says.
What is it about art that makes you keep buying more and more?
I studied in the UK and was exposed to all the galleries there. It gave me a great appreciation for the arts. Once I came back to Sri Lanka, I wanted to always collect the 43
Group’s work, but couldn’t afford it at the time. So, I went to Kala Pola to start my collection 25 years ago. And it is not only paintings that I collect as you can see there are artefacts. Most of my collection is mainly from Sri Lanka, because I love Sri Lankan artists. Today, I have over 140 pieces in my collection.
Tell us about your collection?
It started as a small collection, but over the years every time I go for an exhibition I want to buy something. Unlike others, I don’t purchase merely for value or sale. I want it in my home, I want it on my walls.
How do you identify great art?
In Sri Lanka we have a lot of talent but unfortunately artists don’t have great exposure because we do not have public galleries for artists. Some who call themselves artists are good at copying and re-producing, but these are painters and not artists. It’s important to know the difference. An artist is inspired and creates original work.
Tell us about your experience at Kala Pola over the years?
Well sometimes the art I bought when I was younger is no longer a part of my collection. My taste in art has varied over time as I have myself matured. In recent years I have noticed how well curated Kala Pola is, they bring in much better pieces with each passing year. Even well-known artists opt to take part in Kala Pola as it has become a renowned fair that many people know about.
Since its 2nd year, John Keells has been a patron of Kala Pola. How has corporate patronage shaped the Lankan art scene?
John Keells has helped a lot because many board directors themselves are collectors of art. What is lacking is more corporate patronage. I find that our corporate sector doesn’t participate as much in the art scene in general. Internationally a lot of corporations like banks are collecting work. This is true even in India and we need to have this corporate involvement here. There also needs to be more advertising and communications work to promote the arts so that artists themselves get more exposure.
The 25th anniversary of Kala Pola, Sri Lanka’s celebrated open air street fair presented by the George Keyt Foundation and the John Keells Group, takes place on Sunday, February 25 along the sidewalks at Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha. Free of charge and open to the public, it opens at 8 a.m. and continues until 9 p.m.