It has been an eventful and impactful year for ‘Billari Art Gallery’ despite the challenges the pandemic has created. Sri Lanka’s leading gallery for abstract expressionism has once again showcased its prowess in both the local and international markets. Mueen’s work has reached the pinnacle of achievements this year having been crowned with prestigious international and local awards.
Mueen was selected to participate in the ‘Florence Art Biennale 2019’ where he won the prestigious award for his design. Winning this award put Sri Lanka on the map for producing international calibre artists. Last year he won many awards for his contribution to art and culture for the last 20 years. The industry has recognised Mueen’s contribution to propelling abstract art in the international market. He has been nominated for the most prestigious ‘Kala Bushanna’ lifetime award 2020. In addition to this, he was awarded the following awards,
- Kollampura Award 2020 - winner of National Sri Lankan award for Art
- Vishvahinandana Award 2020 - winner of National award for Outstanding Artist
- Most Outstanding Artist 2020 Vishabimani - winner
- Outstanding Artist - Festival in Colombo 2020 - winner
- Entrepreneur of the Year for Innovation Silver and Bronze Award – winner
- Kala Suri Art Award 2020 – winner
- Star of Asia 2020 - winner
Winning the prestigious entrepreneur award 2019 is a testament to Mueen’s establishment of Art as a field that has great entrepreneurial capacity and capabilities. He is also helping people to find inner peace through art. Last year a group of drug abusers were sent to the Cultural secretariat where Mueen conducted a program ‘healing through art’ this was a great success and the participants benefited from the program. He also regularly conductors healing through art for whoever needs his service and his work can be viewed on www.mueensaheed.com
Mueen is currently touring UK and Europe creating his work on social responsibilities after the pandemic in London. These days he is on a few projects in the United Kingdom and hopes to create awareness in achieving inner peace and happiness through art.
In-Between II
July 15, 2021 – August 5, 2021 at Paradise Road Galleries
Born in Kandy in 1951, Kingsley Gunatillake is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice is largely focused on abstract compositions on canvas and paper. His process involved the use of wooden blocks in the instinctive manipulation of paint with calligraphic movements. His most recent works, presented in this exhibition titled In-Between II are a continuation of a series the artist began in 2019. In these new works the artist extends this narrative by allowing his subconscious to take control of the materials, further hindering his command by placing his work on the floor rather than on an easel. These works are a celebration of gestural abstraction, not intended to suit an overarching narrative and poised to be a reflection of art itself.
Kingsley Gunatillake’s practice involves painting, drawing and installation.
He completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts at the Fine Art University of Colombo in 1979 and a Diploma in Environmental Education from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow in 1994. He has had several solo exhibitions in Sri Lanka, the UK, the Philippines, Ireland, Scotland, India and Japan.
In-Between II will be open to the public from July 15, 2021 to August 5, 2021 at Paradise Road Galleries, The Gallery Café, 2 Alfred House Road, Colombo 3, 10 am to midnight.
Paradise Road The Gallery Café, 2 Alfred House Road, Colombo 3 Contact Tel +94112582162 or email [email protected] for further information
#SupportLocalArt: The Talk Series
A Virtual Event Series Join directly via Zoom or access the livestream on the Saskia Fernando Gallery Facebook
Date & Time: Monday, July 19, 6-7pm (SLST)
Meeting Code: 836 3528 5871
Password: thepatron
Saskia Fernando Gallery is excited to launch #SupportLocalArt: The Talk Series, a virtual event supported by Nations Trust Private Banking.
#SupportLocalArt: The Talk Series is an initiative dedicated to providing a holistic platform for the Sri Lankan art community to share their stories, concerns, and solutions to the chronic underfunding of the local art scene. We sit down with practitioners of the art community across the board - meeting separately with the patrons, the institutions, and the artists themselves to discuss how we can come out of this Covid-induced lull together as a community, placing uplifting the art community in Sri Lanka as our shared goal. We get into the different shades of patronage, from the individual to the organization, as well as getting a chance to listen to the artists and institutions discuss the ways in which we can best support them. Join us as we debunk misconceptions about funding in the art community, discuss the leap from simply collecting to becoming a patron of the arts, and mull over the fragmentation of the arts scene in Sri Lanka.
Join us for the first event in the series, #SupportLocalArt Talk: The Patron on Monday the of July 19, as we sit down with a panel consisting of Sri Lanka’s most prominent patrons to discuss the varied forms of art patronage and the unique importance of each of them; from the corporate to the individual patron.
The Panel
Anojie Amerasinghe is a Patron and Social Entrepreneur.
Ajit Gunawardene is the Founding Committee Chair of the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Sri Lanka and Former Deputy Chairman of John Keells Holdings.
Nadija Tambiah is the Head of John Keells Foundation, Member of the Executive Committee of the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Sri Lanka and Trustee of the George Keyt Foundation, Geoffrey Bawa Trust and Lunuganga Trust.
Udayshanth Fernando is the Chairman of Paradise Road Group of Companies and Head of Udayshanth Fernando Foundation.