Laki Senanayake (18 December 1937 - 30 May 2021) was a Sri Lankan sculptor and painter.

Personal life

Born in 1937, the son of Reginald S. Vincent and Florence Senanayake, he was the fifth of six children. His father, a planter by profession, was a Marxist and a founding member of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP), serving as its treasurer from 1935 to 1939. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, his father went into hiding and was later arrested and detained by the British colonial administration due to the anti war position espoused by the LSSP. Released after the war, Senanayake's father died in 1946. His mother took on her husband's political activities and was elected as the first female

member of parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

in 1947. He married Ranjini Perera in 1962. They had a daughter, Mintaka before they separated, and Ranjini migrated to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Senanayake died on 30 May 2021 on his estate, Diyabubula, in

Dambulla Dambulla ( si, දඹුල්ල ''Dam̆bulla'', ta, தம்புள்ளை ''Tampuḷḷai'') is a town situated in the north of Matale District, Central Province of Sri Lanka. It is the second largest populated and urbanised centre af ...

, at the age of 84. Senanayake grew up in rural countryside due to the war and political activities of his parents. He received his secondary education at Royal College, Colombo, where he won the annual art competition.

Career

Following his schooling, Senanayake found work as an assistant in an architect's office, however he was soon sacked for organising his co-workers to form a trade union. He was then employed by

Geoffrey Bawa Deshamanya Geoffrey Manning Bawa, FRIBA (23 July 1919 – 27 May 2003) was a Sri Lankan architect. He was among the most influential Asian architects of his generation. Early life Geoffrey Bawa was born in Colombo on 23 July 1919, the young ...

as a draughtsman, having noticed his talents. He soon developed close relationship with artists such as

Bevis Bawa Major Bevis William Frederick Bawa, ADC, CLI (26 April 1909 – 18 September 1992) was a Ceylonese (Sri Lankan) planter, soldier and a landscaper. He was also one of the most renowned landscape architects in Sri Lanka and served as the Aide-de- ...

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Ulrik Plesner Ulrik Adolph Plesner, usually known as Ulrik Plesner (17 May 1861 in Vedersø – 22 November 1933 in Skagen) was an innovative Danish architect who designed in a National Romantic style at the beginning of the 20th century. He is remembered in p ...

, Barbara Sansoni and

Ena de Silva Ena de Silva (née Aluwihare) (22 October 1922 – 29 October 2015) was a notable Sri Lankan artist, credited with re-establishing the country's batik industry. She was renowned for her skillsets in the design of batiks and handicrafts and p ...

who had a close relationship with Bawa. By the 1970s Senanayake had established himself as an independent artist.

Notable works

* Ceylon Pavilion, 1970 World Expo,

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

, Japan - bronze Bodhi-leaf (1970) * Ceylonese currency - bank note design - endemic flora and fauna (1979) * Indo-Suez Bank, Colombo - ceiling drawings (1979) * Triton Hotel, Ahungalla - brass and plaster reliefs (1981) * Parliament building,

Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, commonly known as Kotte (), is the legislative capital of Sri Lanka. Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is a satellite city and located within the urban area of Sri Lanka's de facto economic, executive, and judicial capital, ...

- sculptural chandelier (main chamber) (1982) * Neptune Hotel,

Bentota Bentota is a coastal town in Sri Lanka, located in the Galle District of the Southern Province. It is approximately south of Colombo and north of Galle. Bentota is situated on the southern bank of the Bentota River mouth, at an elevati ...

- brass palm and plaster reliefs * Sinbad Hotel,

Kalutara Kalutara ( si, කළුතර, ta, களுத்துறை) or Kalutota is a major city in Kalutara District, Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is also the administrative capital of Kalutara District. It is located approximately south o ...

- transparent cosmological sphere (1990) * Kandalama Hotel,

- brass owl sculpture (1994) * Bentota Beach Hotel,

- brass peacock sculpture * Lighthouse Hotel - bronze and copper sculptural balustrading (1998) * C Beyond Hotel,

Nilaveli Nilaveli ( ta, நிலாவெளி, translit=Nilāveḷi; si, නිල්වැල්ල, translit=Nilvælla) is a coastal resort town and suburb of the Trincomalee District, Sri Lanka located 16 km northwest of the city of Trincomale ...

- building design and sculptures * Diyabubula,

- building design and sculptures

External links

Laki Senanayake website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Senanayake, Laki 1937 births 2021 deaths Alumni of Royal College, Colombo Sinhalese artists People from British Ceylon Sri Lankan Buddhists 20th-century Sri Lankan painters 21st-century Sri Lankan painters Buddhist artists

Personal life

Career

Notable works

External links

Further reading

References