Gayan Prageeth SrI Lankan , b. 1980
Gayan Prageeth combines intricate acrylic painting with fine ink drawings on rice paper, pasted on the canvas, to evolve a dynamic sharpness within his elaborate compositions. In his recent work, Prageeth furthermore explores the art of installation, with a subtle link to the ready-made, transforming manufactured steel buckets into time critical objects. In contrast to the political carnival portrayed in Prageeth’s earlier work, this new direction illustrates the turmoil of the eruption of the civil war through installation and geometric symbolism – a combination of works that demonstrate not only our history but also the current state of many countries around the world. Overall, his body of work is characterised by a Sri Lankan specific iconography and bears a sensitive awareness of ongoing environmental and political issues. His works have moved further into controversial politics facing the island over the past years. The subtlety with which he approaches his subject combined with a strong detail in his technique make him part of the growing trend of artists choosing to use contrast as a mechanism of representation in their art.
Gayan Prageeth was born in 1980 in Horana, Sri Lanka. He holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Visual and Performing Arts in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Soon after graduating the artist presented his first solo exhibition of works at Paradise Road Galleries, Colombo in 2010 featuring a series of mixed media works on paper on canvas titled 'Paradox'. The artist exhibited his second solo show with Paradise Road Galleries in 2013 and has since presented four solo exhibitions of work at Saskia Fernando Gallery between the years 2015 and 2021.
In 2008, 2011 and 2017 he was awarded in the 'Best Painting' Category by the State Art Festival organised by Ministry of Cultural Affairs. In 2017 he also received an award in the 'Best Installation' category for the festival. In 2008 and 2012 he presented his work in the Asian Art Biennale in Dhaka, Bangladesh. In 2016 he was also selected to participate in the Colombo Art Beinnale: Conceiving Space curated by Alnoor Mitha.
In 2011 and 2013 he participated in the SAARC Artist Camp held in Sri Lanka and the Maldives. In 2016 he participated in the residency 'Insight of Chain' organised by the Cultural Ministry of China in Beijing.In 2020 he visited a residency organised by the Sri Sri University in Bhubanesvar, India under the theme 'Colour Beyond'.
In his 2016 exhibition titled ‘Since 1983’, Prageeth began exploring installation, with a subtle link to the ready-made, transforming manufactured steel buckets into time critical objects. In contrast to the political carnival portrayed in Prageeth’s previous exhibition 'Extravagance', these new works illustrated the turmoil of the eruption of the civil war through installation and geometric symbolism. His works have since moved further into controversial politics facing the island over the past years. The subtlety with which he approaches his subject combined with a strong detail in his technique make him part of the growing trend of artists choosing to use contrast as a mechanism of representation in their art.
In 2018 the artist presented his works with Saskia Fernando Gallery at Art Dubai and in 2019 he was included in the group show Crossing Place, a collaborative exhibition presented in Los Angeles by Baik Art Gallery with Saskia Fernando Gallery.
Gayan Prageeth's works belong to private collections in Asia and Europe.
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Eyes Only
Gayan Prageeth 3 Feb - 3 Mar 2021Gayan Prageeth’s latest exhibition, titled Eyes Only, revolves around the developments of the development of politics and corruption in Sri Lanka post-war. His thought provoking use of intricate illustrations of...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 -
Apperceiving 1983
Gayan Prageeth 16 Nov - 6 Dec 2017As Sri Lanka begins to rebuild itself and attempts at reconciliation begin to take shape, the exhibition “Apperceiving 1983” looks back at the events that transpired between the people of...Read more -
Since 1983
Gayan Prageeth 6 - 25 Oct 2016The racial conflict that commenced on July 23,1983, is commonly known as Black July. During these riots, Tamils were identified by their pronunciation. Various methods were used for this purpose....Read more -
Extravagance
Gayan Prageeth 28 Mar - 25 Apr 2015After over a year of preparation, Prageeth presents a series of ten paintings contemplating Sri Lanka's previous ruling regime. The artist defends the exhibitions timing and reiterates that the country's...Read more
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“Eyes Only” Delves Into the Psyche of Sri Lankan Society
GroundViews February 12, 2021Artist Gayan Prageeth is exhibiting his latest collection, Eyes Only, at the Saskia Fernando Gallery. His work reflects a deep concern for the state of...Read more -
Conversation: Gayan Prageeth
Baik Art Gallery February 7, 2021Chris Rivas: Can you tell me how your bucket series talks about the political history in Sri Lanka and Black July? Gayan Prageeth: The racial...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
