In a world where artists can be judged as much by their celebrity as by their work, Asai Rasiah, who has died aged 74, was reliably unconventional in both aspects. While highly regarded by his peers, he seemed undesirous of becoming a household name and approached life entirely as an artist and a teacher/lecturer of art.
Rasiah, eldest son of Asai and Sellamma was born in 1946 in Atchuvely. Along with the picturesque village, his mother, a creative seamstress and a skilful embroideress was the budding artist’s inspiration. Meeting Artist Singaram, from whom Rasiah learned watercolour art – was the turning point in his life that set him en route to becoming an exceptional artist.
Rasiah attended The School of Arts & Crafts, Colombo -07 from 1966-69. Disappointed not to have an oil painting in the syllabus, he self-taught it. A.C.G.S. Amarasekara, David Paynter, G.S.Fernando, Stanley Abeysinghe, J.D.A. Perera, Deraniyagala, Picasso, Rembrandt, John Constable and Van Gogh were his major influences. Rasiah’s ‘Poverty’ and ‘Fallen withered leaves’ remind A.C.G.S. Amarasekara’s ‘Carpentry Worker’s Family’ painting.
Rasiah had to flee Colombo in the aftermath of the 1983 Pogrom. He had to vacate his post and struggle for a very long period to get his pension sorted. Due to this, Rasiah had to make both ends meet with art in a war-tone zone for over 30 years. Stricken with Cervical Spondylosis, severe Rheumatism and Hypertension, it was Rasiah’s indomitable will that kept him going.
“A picture speaks a thousand words”, he would say, “so an artist must allow his/her art to speak for itself”. Ethereal yet evocative, his paintings are distinguished by the quality of simplicity, often depicting daily life, the struggles, and the villagers’ spirituality in Jaffna, his home town.
His painting styles were continually evolving. He began using a palette knife in place of a brush to paint. Speedy handling of a palette knife gave his landscape paintings an entirely new dimension. Some of his paintings depict poignant scenes from the tsunami, the destruction of war and its aftermath. According to him, the most notable of his paintings is a portrayal of women- how women who had lost their children and their spouses during the war, are left to bear the burden of dealing with their grief and fending for their families.
“When society is going through a terrible time, it’s essentially the responsibility of an artist to show them the way through his art. An artist must highlight and bring to light the trials and injustices faced by the common man on a day-to-day basis”, said Rasiah. His paintings carry powerful social messages – widows, killings, poverty, caste problems, displacement etc. all appeared in his work.
“I have admired the Palmyrah trees of Jaffna in Rasiah’s paintings, just as the lively Pine trees in the paintings of the world-famous Van Gogh,” Artist Siriththiran Sivagnanasuntharam said. “His paintings are mostly natural, full of colour and elegance; the way he displays shade and light in his paintings, mainly in the style of ‘Rembrandt’, is astonishing.”
Rasiah was engaged by the Philatelic Bureau when he worked at Royal College, Colombo as an art teacher. He designed the stamps of Sir.P.Ramanathan, Sir.P.Arunachalam, Sir.W.Duraiswamy, Sir J.Kotalawala, George E.D. Silva, Sir D.P. Malalasekara, Veerasingham – the father of the Co-operative Movement, Thavalam and the first train in Sri Lanka.
He was a multi-talented artist who had also been a teacher, a lecturer, an illustrator for many magazines and books, including academic books published by the Educational Publications Department, a photographer, and a Fine Arts critic skilful couturier, a farmer, a poet and an author.
He has held annual exhibitions at the National Art Gallery in Colombo, held solo shows at Atchuvely in 1985, and at the University of Jaffna, in 1998, where he exhibited 60 paintings. Some of his images were on sale at the Platé Art Gallery in Colombo.
Rasiah received several Sri Lankan honours – Best Photographer(1994), Kalaignanachchudar Award (2009), Governor of the Northern Province Award (2009), Kalapushanam Award (2010), Colombo Tamil Sangam Award (2012), Gnanam Magazine Award (2012), Painter Kiko Thamizhiyal Award (2013), Kalaignanapuranan Award (2014), Achurkurisil Award (2014) and Lifetime Achievement Award (2017).
Rasiah – known as a caring, modest gentleman – was an artist whose works straddled eras, styles and continents. He is survived by his wife, Gnanambikai, and daughter – Gayathiry.
• Asai Rasiah, artist, born 16th August 1946; died 29th August 2020.
You can view some of his paintings in here
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