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As 2024 comes to a close, we recap the milestones that shaped this year for us at SFG. Along with taking on new artist representations and presenting our artists internationally, we also opened a second gallery in Colombo as we complete fifteen years in the contemporary art industry. Read on to learn more about the key highlights!
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A BRAND NEW LOCATION AND IDENTITY |
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With the opening of our second gallery, PRSFG at Colombo 03, Saskia Fernando Gallery entered a new phase, with a brand new identity as it merged with Paradise Road Galleries. This new venture marks a significant milestone in the history of both galleries, expanding on the scope of artist representations and gallery programs as we continue to contribute towards shaping the dialogue on contemporary art in the region.
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MUSEUM ACQUSITIONS |
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Arjuna Gunarathne, 2023, Here or There, Oil on Canvas, 180cm x 220cm
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In February 2024, Arjuna Gunarathne’s painting Here or There by Arjuna Gunarathne was acquired by the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA) in Delhi. An avid student of diverse visual arts practices, Gunarathne blends Eastern and Western traditions to create a unique visual language. His artistic expression provides fantastical imagination through which the artist essays the loneliness and alienation of the migrant experience while finding mirth in the quiet existence he has carved out for himself and his family.
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NEW REPRESENTATION
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In August this year, we announced the exclusive representation of H. A. Karunaratne, widely considered the father of abstract art in Sri Lanka. Karunaratne's distinctive artistic approach bears resemblance to American Abstract Expressionism and is deeply influenced by Buddhist and Zen philosophies. With a career spanning over six decades, Karunaratne is a distinguished artist and pedagogue renowned for his profound impact on abstract expressionism within the country’s art institutions.
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This was followed by the representation of emerging practitioner Sandatharaka Abeysinghe with the opening of his solo exhibition Elsewhere in October.
Abeysinghe explores the complex relationship between nature and humanity in his work through the expert use of oil and watercolours. The artist’s practice is deeply influenced by the rich folklore and rural traditions of his native culture. His work poignantly captures the essence of rural life amidst the relentless advance of modern urbanisation. |
Sandatharaka Abeysinghe
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NURTURING YOUNG TALENT
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Debutant Randika de Silva held her first solo exhibition Coexist in April, an exhibition of soft sculptures that mediate the intricate and complex entanglements of human experiences and emotions. Randika de Silva graduated from the University of Moratuwa with a Bachelor in Design with a specialisation in fashion and lifestyle design and was one of the A4A Production Fund grantees from the year 2021.
Randika de Silva, Coexist, Saskia Fernando Gallery, 2024
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The second edition of the A4A Production Fund concluded in September with an exhibition of this year's grantees Dumiduni Illangasinghe, Mayun Kaluthantri, and Malinda Jayasinghe at Saskia Fernando Gallery. The artists selected following an Open Call in August 2023 were supported via the A4A Production Fund, a project founded by the Udayshanth Fernando Foundation and Saskia Fernando Gallery to support emerging talent in the country.
A4A, Saskia Fernando Gallery, 2024
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Creating Vibrant Spaces for Art through Public Engagement
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This year’s calendar of public events included a specially curated talk with Katy Wickremesinghe, Founder of The Wick, in conversation with leading Sri Lankan contemporary artist Chandraguptha Thenuwara, honouring his annual memorial exhibition Meta-Real. In August, Malaka Thalwatta and Hema Shironi discussed Shironi’s unique artistic practice and future endeavours during an insightful conversation hosted at the gallery during the presentation of her exhibition Families Not in the List.
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SFG x The Wick
Extending the conversation on providing support for the arts and the role of patrons in creating a sustainable ecosystem, we hosted the sixth edition of the #SupportLocalArt Talk, titled The Patron. The discussion featured Peter Harris, Collector and Custodian of Doornberg Galle, and Leena Hirdaramani, Trustee of the George Keyt Foundation, Patron of the MMCA Sri Lanka, and Co-Founder of Gallery Mount Castle, in conversation with Saskia Fernando, Director of Saskia Fernando Gallery
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CREATING IMPACT THROUGH ART
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.Tapping into art’s potential to create community and raise awareness Saskia Fernando Gallery partnered with the Udayashanth and Angelika Fernando Foundation and the Indira Cancer Trust in launching its third Annual Fundraiser. The fundraiser featured over fifty leading and emerging contemporary artists who generously contributed towards the initiative. Through the support of the arts community and the patrons, the fundraiser succeeded in raising LKR 6,400,000 in aid of cancer and for supporting the arts.
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INTERNATIONAL EXHIBITIONS
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Hema Shironi is among the seventy participating artists at the 11th Asia Pacific Triennale, which opened at Queensland Art Gallery & Gallery of Modern Art, Australia in November.
Hema Shironi at Queensland Art Gallery & Gallery of Modern Art, Australia
In addition to APT 11, Shironi’s They Netted Us was on show at Small World as a part of the Taipei Biennale which concluded this year in March.
Hema Shironi, They Netted Us, Small World, Taipei Biennial, Taipei, 2023
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Now Streaming, Rajiv Menon Contemporary, 2024
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This year was an exciting milestone for our artists, with Muvindu Binoy and Firi Rahman making their U.S. debuts with Rajiv Menon Contemporary. Binoy’s works were featured in Now Streaming, while Rahman was among the nineteen artists presented in The Past is a Country—two exhibitions that explored the dialogues and connections between artists from South Asia and its global diasporas. |
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SFG AT ART FAIRS |
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Saskia Fernando Gallery proudly represented Sri Lankan art on the global stage as the only Sri Lankan gallery present at the India Art Fair 2023. Showcasing works by Firi Rahman, Fabienne Francotte, Gayan Prageeth, Nuwan Nalaka, and Arjuna Gunarathne, the gallery's selection at the fair explored contemporary themes of identity, politics, history, migration, and sexuality. The diverse collection included a range of mediums, from sculpture and oil painting to drawing, offering thought-provoking reflections on pressing social issues.
India Art Fair, 2024
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Chandraguptha Thenuwara’s 1999 Mother and Child along with his works from the Glitch series were part of Art Dubai’s Modern section curated by Christianna Bonin. Art Dubai’s Modern section examined the former Soviet Union’s cultural links with regions such as the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia. This painting draws on the mother-and-child archetype of Eastern Orthodox icons, but in place of the traditional gold background, Chandraguptha Thenuwara adds camouflage—a prevalent motif in his practice that alludes to the common use of camouflaged barrels at military checkpoints during the civil war in Sri Lanka. The work is a salient example of the socialist concerns that are intertwined with the artist's practice - demonstrating the influence and the
Art Dubai, 2024
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BRINGING ART INTO PUBLIC SPACES
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The opening of Cinnamon Life City of Dreams was accompanied by the unveiling of a selection of fourteen artworks curated by Saskia Fernando Gallery . The artists include Halik Azeez, Muvindu Binoy, Chudamani Clowes, Kos Cos, Chathurika Jayani, Kingsley Gunatillake, Anoli Perera, Pala Pothupitya, Gayan Prageeth, Firi Rahman, Jagath Ravindra, Hema Shironi, Priyantha Udagedara, and Jagath Weerasinghe.
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Reflecting on an extraordinary year, Saskia Fernando Gallery extends heartfelt gratitude to our artists, patrons, and supporters for making 2024 a journey of artistic discovery and inspiration. As we step into 2025, we are eager to introduce fresh opportunities, expanded artist representation, and an even richer artistic experience for our community through PRSFG
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HA Karunaratne 
