Chandraguptha Thenuwara Sri Lankan , b. 1960
Chandraguptha Thenuwara is an artist cum activist whose body of work is dedicated to his plight to expose political corruption in Sri Lanka. In 1997 the artist began presenting his self-curated memorial exhibitions, presented on 23 July every year to commemorate 'Black July'. The exhibitions began with a series of work titled Barrelism, his response to the change in the cityscape of Colombo during the war. A multidisciplinary artist, Thenuwara's works connect painting, drawing, sculpture and installation made up of the juxtaposition of objects and witty paronomasias. His works metmorphose to represent current affairs using symbolism and themes approaching the subjects of conflict and adversity.
Chandraguptha Thenuwara was born in Galle, Sri Lanka in 1960. He holds a Master in Philosophy of the Institute of Archeology of the University of Kelaniya Colombo, Sri Lanka as well as a Master of Fine Arts with Honors of the Moscow State Art Institute where he studied painting at the Moscow State Institute, USSR between 1985-1992.
In 1993 he founded the Vibhavi Academy of Fine Arts (VAFA), an artist-run art school and exhibition space. His first solo exhibition was held at the Samudra Gallery, Colombo in 1978 and was followed by several exhibitions of his paintings in the USSR and Sri Lanka until 1995. In 1997 the artist launched his ongoing series of camouflage works entitled Barrelism at the Heritage Gallery, Colombo. Conceived and executed across several mediums, Barrelism projects have continued until 2015 after which he began his Glitch series in 2017. He currently lives and works in Colombo.
In 2007 he participated in the One Year Drawing Project Artist Book curated by Sharmini Pereira of Raking Leaves Publications.
In 2000 Thenuwara installed a permanent monument for the Neelan Thiruchlevam Trust at their premises in Colombo. In the same year he was invited by the Kala Pe Api Organisation and the Asian Human Rights to create the work 'Monument for the Disappeared' currently installed in Seeduwa, Sri Lanka.
In 2010 he curated Visual Responses during the War sponsored by the Centre for Policiy Alternatives and exhibited at the Lionel Wendt Gallery. Between the years 2015 and 2018 he continued to curate exhibtions annually with a focus on the themes of human rights, displacements, conflict and adversity.
His work has been exhibited internationally, from his native Sri Lanka to Australia, Asia and Europe. His works currently belong to private and institutional collections including the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum in Japan, Queensland Art Gallery in Australia, John Moore's Univerity Art Collection in United Kingdom, Fine Art Museum Umurtia in Russia as well as private collections in Sri Lanka and internationally.
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Sri Lankan activist art by Chandraguptha Thenuwara to be shown at Frieze London
The Art Newspaper, July 18, 2022 -
COLLECTOR PROFILE | SUNETHRA BANDARANAIKE
May 15, 2021 -
COLLECTOR PROFILE | PATRICK DALTON
April 15, 2021 -
Memory is the process; its result, the memorial: A chat with Prof. Chandraguptha Thenuwara
The Sunday Morning, January 24, 2021 -
Sri Lankan Contemporary Art
The White Review No.2 | Jospehine Breese, June 1, 2011
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ECCE HOMO
CHANDRAGUPTHA THENUWARA 23 Jul - 23 Aug 2022Saskia Fernando Gallery is pleased to announce the upcoming exhibition by Chandraguptha Thenuwara, Ecce Homo.Read more -
BLINDS
Chandraguptha Thenuwara 23 Jul - 20 Aug 2021Most of us spent more time looking out of the windows of our homes this last year than in any other year. So, it is perhaps no surprise that one...Read more -
Atmosphere | At/Most/Fear
Chandraguptha Thenuwara 23 Jul - 13 Aug 2020An activist and artist, Chandraguptha Thenuwara engages his multi disciplinary practice in the investigation of the sociopolitical climate in Sri Lanka. On 23 July 2020 he will present his 22nd...Read more -
ART in CURFEW
CHANDRAGUPTHA THENUWARA, FABIENNE FRANCOTTE, FIRI RAHMAN, MUVINDU BINOY, NUWAN NALAKA AND PAKKIYARAJAH PUSHPAKANTHAN 1 - 30 Apr 2020ART in CURFEW is a series created in quarantine by SFG artists. These works are being processed in an enforced quietude and many are a response to the pandemic. Accompanying...Read more -
M.O.B.
Chandraguptha Thenuwara 13 Aug - 23 Sep 2019What is happening around us? Following the end of a 27 year long war instead of establishing a peace building process by returning occupied land and removing camps, there are...Read more -
Crossing Place, Baik Art Los Angeles
Jagath Weerasinghe, Pakkiyarajah Pushpakanthan, Saskia Pinetelon, Priyantha Udagedara, Chandraguptha Thenuwera 20 Apr - 1 Jun 2019When contemporary art from South East Asia enjoys increasing global attention, Baik Art is pleased to present Crossing Place, a unique exploration of contemporary art from Sri Lanka. The exhibition,...Read more -
Executive Demon and Other Works
Chandraguptha Thenuwara 24 Jul - 14 Aug 2018Executive Demon and Other Works presents a new body of work by Chandraguptha Thenuwara consisting of his political commentary in the form of sculptural installation discussing effects of the Executive...Read more -
Glitch +
Chandraguptha Thenuwara 22 Jul - 13 Aug 2017Black July took place 34 years ago. The war was over 8 years ago. Tyranny was defeated 2 ½ years ago. Democracy was then established and today we have no...Read more -
Glitch
Chandraguptha Thenuwara 23 Jul - 20 Aug 2016In 1983, thirty three years ago, an organized mob led pogrom to humiliate minority Tamils living in Colombo and the south of Sri Lanka in revenge for the killing of...Read more -
Chandraguptha Thenuwara
Chandraguptha Thenuwara 30 Jan - 27 Feb 2015Artist cum activist Chandraguptha Thenuwara has staged a self-curated exhibition at the Lionel Wendt Art Gallery annually since 2006. The series of works he began creating in response to the...Read more -
Drawing Series
Chandraguptha Thenuwara 23 Jul - 23 Aug 2014Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took...Read more -
Drawings
Chandraguptha Thenuwara & Jagath Weerasinghe 2 - 30 Oct 2012Drawings takes place as a dual exhibition of drawings by Chandraguptha Thenuwara and Jagath Weerasinghe, staged simultaneously in London and Colombo. Thenuwara and Weerasinghe are among Sri Lanka’s foremost artists....Read more -
Contemporary Art from Sri Lanka 2011
Muhanned Cader Druvinka Kingsley Gunatillake Vajira Gunawardene Dumith Kulasekara Sanjeewa Kumara Sujeewa Kumari Prageeth Manohansa Pala Pothupitiye Saskia Pintelon Jagath Ravindra Tilak Samarawickrema Chandraguptha Thenuwara Jagath Weerasinghe Anoma Wije 1 - 12 Mar 2011Writing on contemporary Sri Lankan art at this ‘moment’ in history is difficult. It seems that most of the artists that made the last decades of the 20th century and...Read more -
Script
Anoma Wijewardena, Saskia Pintelon, Tilak Samawawickrema, Kingsley Gunatillake, Chandraguptha Thenuwara, Jagath Ravindra and Prageeth Manohansa 26 Jan - 20 Feb 2011An exibition of artwork inspired by contemporary poetry and writings. View the E - CatalogueRead more -
A Retrospective
Chandraguptha Thenuwara 23 Jul - 6 Aug 2009View the E - CatalogueRead more
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Chandraguptha Thenuwara | Covert | Venice Biennale 2022
April 8, 2022For the installation Covert, Chandraguptha Thenuwara creates a vortex of these interlocking motifs, deliberately playing on each of their ambiguities. These are not static images;...Read more -
Covert, Chandraguptha Thenuwara, Personal Structures, European Cultural Centre, Venice Biennale 2022
January 25, 2022Saskia Fernando Gallery (SFG) is pleased to announce the participation of artist Chandraguptha Thenuwara in the forthcoming Venice Biennale 2022, Italy. The installation will be...Read more -
the gift
CLOSING CONVERSATION September 27, 2021In 2019, as part of the artistic programme commemorating Geoffrey Bawa’s 100th birthday, Lunuganga hosted a series of installations by artists and makers from Sri...Read more -
The Architect
Saskia Fernando Gallery I Art in Curfew May 18, 2021After a brief hiatus due to the pandemic, ‘The Architect’ journal returns with a ‘double issue’ that sets out to offer views from home and...Read more
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Fukuoka Asian Art Museum - Ajibi News
Chandraguptha Thenuwara October 23, 2020SFG represented artist cum activist, Chandraguptha Thenuwara's works representing the current and/or recent local contemporary politics have been exhibited widely internationally and locally. In many...Read more -
Chandraguptha Thenuwara @ Lunuganga
22 March 2020 February 22, 2020Lunuganga was created by Geoffrey Bawa over a period of 40 years and is considered to be a seminal expression of his practice, a place...Read more -
Five @ Baik Art Los Angeles
June 2019 - August 2019 June 30, 2019In the spirit of remembrance, the gallery has invited all of the artists previously involved with our programs to exhibit collectively at our Culver City...Read more -
Difference Framing
Sanjana Hattotuwa May 25, 2018“The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.” ―...Read more
