One week before Dr. H.A. Karunaratne died, Saskia Fernando Gallery received an invitation to present his work at Frieze Masters in London.
This October, Karunaratne will become only the second Sri Lankan artist to be featured at Frieze Masters, while Saskia Fernando Gallery will become the first Sri Lankan gallery to participate.
For Fernando, the significance is not simply international recognition, but recognition of an artist she believes Sri Lanka itself has undervalued.
“To be invited to feature a Sri Lankan modernist alongside international masters is an accreditation to a modernist who is underacknowledged even in our local art ecosystem,” Fernando said.
Karunaratne, a pioneer of Sri Lankan abstraction, spent much of his career removed from the commercial art world.
“His understanding of Zen Buddhism made him dedicated to his practice and removed from the ego,” Fernando said.
That distance makes his late recognition particularly striking. Artists he taught are now entering major international collections, while his own legacy requires adequate acknowledgement and celebration.
“It has always been the right time to acknowledge Dr HA Karunaratne as a master.”
Fernando argues that his career also challenges the way artistic reputations are built.
