Long resident Japanese painter’s work on display at the Wendt on Sept. 23-24

Yoko Okada, long-time resident of Sri Lanka will be showcasing the art and culture of her native Japan as well as her love of exploring different cultures at an exhibition at the Lionel Wendt Art Gallery on Sept. 23-24 from 10 am to 6 pm on each day.

Born and raised in Kyushu, Japan, Yoko moved to Sri Lanka in the ‘60s when she married Mahinda Weerapura at a ceremony attended by the late Prince Mikasa of Japan.

She began her art journey with batik, creating beautiful pieces that graced the catwalks of some of Sri Lanka’s first fashion shows in the ‘80s. Yoko also worked with ikebana, and used her artistic talents to host a radio show. However, her first love has been painting.

She first explored painting in her younger years and continued in the early ‘20s as a student of Dr. Sarath Chandrajeewa who she studied under for several years as she worked to develop her own style.

Yoko favors acrylic paint on canvas with strong, bright colors and precise lines with attention to detail and patience. These set her apart from the many. The exhibition displays her different styles and themes from the Ukiyo-e style pieces of her native Japan to portraits and landscapes of far away countries and people as well as big, bright, bold paintings of flowers.

Yoko’s last exhibition was in 2010 at the Lionel Wendt Art Gallery in Colombo. Many of those pieces were auctioned for charity and are now displayed throughout the world in private collections.

Her art can be found in Tokyo, New York, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Kuala Lumpur, and Colombo, among other places. Though none of her work is currently available for sale, a permanent limited collection of her work is on display at Sayura House Boutique Hotel in Wellawatte.