George Claessen (1909 – 2000)
‘The quintessentially calm, deliberate, contemplative artist’ - G. M. Butcher
Born in 1909 Claessen spent his first thirty eight years of his life in Ceylon (Sri Lanka). He belonged to a family who had a strong inclination towards visual arts. He began to paint only at the age of 29 after he joined the Port Commission in Colombo as a Draughtsman.
A founding member of the 43 group, Claessen, came to public notice through the publication in 1946 ‘Jataka’ a little book of drawings by him, which was edited by Ian Goonetileke. Arther van Langenberd provided the Foreword in which he stated ‘The appreciation of a drawing after the first sensation is past, creates a longing for serener, more lasting qualities which the artist is called upon to satisfy. The drawings of George Claessen possess these qualities” (Weereratne, 1993,59).
Some of his art was inspired by Chinese brush drawings and Japanese woodcut. Some others show a modelling of typical European draughtsmanship. His work is mainly dominated by a subtle intimacy and a suggestive use of line which captures form and explores movement (Dharmasiri, 2001)
George Classesn’s works came to public attention at the regular exhibitions of the 43 group. In the late 1940s he moved to Melbourne where he experimented with abstract painting. He then moved to London. He exhibited at the Group’s first exhibition at the Imperial Institute in 1952 with six others of the 43 Group. Claessen participated in the Venice Biennale of 1956 and at the fifth Biennale at the Messeu de Arte Moderna in Sao Paulo, Brazil in 1959, where he also won an award. Following this he held a one-man exhibition at the New Vision Centre Gallery, London in 1962.
He has published two books of mainly traditional poems; Poems of a Painter published by Mitre Press in 1967 and Poems about Nothing published by Arthur Stockwell in 1981.
Extractions from Weeraratne (1993), Dharmasiri (2001-9) and Wanigaratne (1999)
| Name of Exhibition | Year | Place |
|---|---|---|
| 43 Group 1st Exhibition | 1943 | Darley Road, Colombo |
| 43 Group 2nd Exhibition | 1944 | Darley Road, Colombo |
| 43 Group 3rd Exhibition | 1945 | Darley Road, Colombo |
| 43 Group 4th Exhibition | 1946 | Darley Road, Colombo |
| 43 Group 5th Exhibition | 1947 | Guildford Crescent, Colombo |
| Group Exhibition | 1947 | Victorian Artists Society, Melbourne |
| Exhibition | 1948 | Velasquez Gallery, Melbourne |
| 43 Group 6th Exhibition | 1948 | Guildford Crescent, Colombo |
| 43 Group 7th Exhibition | 1949 | Colombo |
| Exhibition | 1950 | The Archer Gallery, London |
| 43 Group Contemporary Ceylonese Painting | 1952 | Imperial Institute, London |
| Exposition de L’Art Contemporain De Ceylon | 1953 | Paris |
| Artists International Association Gallery – 6 Contemporary Ceyloneses Painters | 1954 | London |
| The Heffer Gallery – Exhibition of Contemporary Painters from Ceylon | 1954 | Cambridge |
| 43 Group 10th Exhibition: The Art Gallery | 1955 | Colombo |
| 43 Group 11th Exhibition: The Art Gallery | 1956 | Guildford Crescent, Colombo |
| Exhibition of Contemporary Paintings and Drawings from Ceylon: Arts Council Gallery | 1956 | Cambridge |
| 28th International Biennale | 1956 | Venice |
| 5th International Biennale | 1959 | Sao Paolo, Brazil |
| South Asian Artists at Work in London – Bear Lane Gallery | 1961 | Oxford |
| The new Vision Centre Gallary | 1963 | London |
| 1st Commonwealth Biennale of Abstract Art | 1963 | London |
| 43 Group 14th Exhibition: The Art Gallery | 1964 | Guildford Crescent, Colombo |
| Stanhope Gallery | 1975 | London |
| Purcell Room Foyer, Royal Festival Hall – 43 Group Colombo | 1985 | London |
| Lyre Room, Royal Festival Hall – 43 Group Colombo | 1987 | London |
| Lionel Wendt Gallery – In honor of George Keyt | 1991 | Colombo |
| George Classen: A retrospective | 1993 | Gallery 706, Colombo |
| Exhibition Catalogue | 2009 | Paradise Road Galleries |
| Exhibition of the ’43 Group and Other Artists by The Taprobane Collection | 2017 | Nelum Arts Centre, Colombo |
| Name of Book | Year of Publication | Author | Printer |
|---|---|---|---|
| George Claessen Drawings | 1946 | Ian Goonetilleke | Daily News Press |
| George Claessen – Artist, Sculptor and Poet – 1909-99 | 2000 | Shamil Wanigaratne | Paradise Isle Publications, London |
| George Claessen - Exhibition Catalogue | 2009 | Paradise Road Galleries | |
Other Publicaitons the Artist has been mentioned in | |||
| 43 Group | 1993 | Neville Weereratne | Lantana Publishing |
| Moods and Modes – 50 years of Sri Lankan Painting | 1999 | Martin Russel, Nihal Rodrigo, Ellen Dissanayake, S.B. Dissanayake | The Goearge Keyt Foundation / Aitken Spence Printing |
| The Presidential Collection – Contemporary Sri Lankan Art | 2008 | Presidential Secretariat | |
| Sri Lankan Painting in the 20th Century | 2009 | Senake Bandaranayake and Albert Dharmasiri | The Nationl Trust Sri Lanka |
| Artful Resistance – Contemporary Art from Sri Lanka | 2010 | Edited by Sylvia S. Kasprycki and Doris I Stambra | SKF Publishers |
| Supplement to the Sapumal Foundation | 2018 | Rohan De Soysa | The Sapumal Foundation |
| The Heritage I, II, III | - | Albert Dharmasiri | R. Rajamahendran |
Ref :CL 4
Title :At the Café
Signed :Lower Left
Year :1940s
Measurements in Cms :41 x 35
Material Used :Oil on Board
Ref :CL 22
Title :Esoteric Transcript II
Signed :Lower Left
Year :1960s
Measurements in Cms :41 x 46.5
Material Used :Oil on Canvas
Ref :CL 16
Title :Esoteric Transcript I
Signed :Lower Right
Year :1966
Measurements in Cms :46 x 40.5
Material Used :Oil on Canvas
Ref :CL 5
Title :Summation
Signed :Lower Right
Year :1969
Measurements in Cms :25.5 x 35.5
Material Used :Water Colour on Paper
Ref :CL 15
Title :Rectangle
Signed :Top Middle
Year :1972
Measurements in Cms :43 x 50
Material Used :Oil/Tempera on Canvas
Ref :CL 2
Title :The Bull
Signed :Lower Right
Year :1976
Measurements in Cms :27.5 x 35.5
Material Used :Water Colour on Paper
Ref :CL 19
Title :Darkness & Light
Signed :Top Right
Year :1986
Measurements in Cms :27.5 x 22.5
Material Used :Oil on Linen
Ref :CL 10
Title :Legend
Signed :Lower Right
Year :1989
Measurements in Cms :26 x 19
Material Used :Water Colour on Paper
Ref :CL 11
Title :Head
Signed :Lower Right
Year :1991
Measurements in Cms :32.75 x 23.5
Material Used :Pastel on Paper
Ref :CL 12
Title :Untitled
Signed :Lower Right
Year :1991
Measurements in Cms :32 x 24
Material Used :Water Colour on Pape
Ref :CL 9
Title :Untitled
Signed :Lower Right
Year :1991
Measurements in Cms :28 x 24
Material Used :Water Colour on Pape
Ref :CL 21
Title :Of the beyond
Signed :Lower Right
Year :1993
Measurements in Cms :45 x 53.5
Material Used :Oil on Canvas
Ref :CL 17
Title :Hymns at Heavens Gate
Signed :Top Middle
Year :1993
Measurements in Cms :28 x 19.5
Material Used :Acrylic on Linen
Ref :CL 6
Title :Mechanics of Creation
Signed :Lower Right
Year :-
Measurements in Cms :40 x 44.5
Material Used :Oil on Board
Ref :CL 18
Title :Mechanics of Creation
Signed :Lower Right
Year :1995
Measurements in Cms :26.5 x 34.5
Material Used :Oil on Canvas
Ref :CL 3
Title :Vertical Resolve
Signed :Lower Left & Right
Year :1996
Measurements in Cms :94 x 62
Material Used :Egg Tempera on Canvas
Ref :CL 23
Title :Still Life –Fruits
Signed :Top Middle
Measurements in Cms : 32 x41.5
Material Used :Oil on Canvas
Ref :CL 24
Title :Abstract Mirror
Signed :Written on Reverse & Label
Measurements in Cms : 35 x 30
Material Used :Oil on Board
| Year | Institute | Qualification |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | new | a |
