Legacies: H.A. Karunaratne

Saskia Fernando Gallery is honoured to present Legacies: H.A. Karunaratne. Serving as a homage to H.A. Karunaratne’s role in redefining established approaches to image making, the exhibition looks back at the artist’s pedagogic legacy and his enduring influence on leading contemporary practitioners. Under his tutelage, the academic curriculum largely defined by a figurative practice, created a generation of artists with distinct individual identities. Featuring artists whose practice shares resonances with H.A. Karunaratne’s philosophy and commitment to art, the presentation explores the currents that continue to shape and enrich the visual landscape of Sri Lanka.

In the context of South Asian art history, H.A. Karunaratne’s practice is situated within a period when nation states were emerging, along with globalisation and exposure to new modes and mediums of artistic expression. Influenced by Abstract Expressionism and Zen Buddhist philosophy, Karunaratne's practice was shaped by a discipline committed to individual expression and the limitless possibilities of material, resisting easy categorisation within national or international identity.