SAMPATH AMUNUGAMA

LOVERS

SAMPATH AMUNUGAMA

28 APRIL 2016 - 25 MAY 2016

‘In the beginning there was a line’, once said Pliniusthe Elder, the natural philosopher who lived towards the end of the Roman Empire. Since then, generations of art historians and experts are more or less convinced that a sketch or a drawing always is the beginning of a process of art which is ending in a painting, a sculpture or in architecture.

It must have been some ten years ago - I just had enjoyed his gorgeous painting Ardhanarishvara at an Exhibition – and then I visited the artist Sampath Amunugama for the first time at his place to have a look at his other paintings. It took ages before he showed me his latest paintings, because he first dragged from a small room a countless amount of drawings that soon covered the whole floor in the main room of his house.

At that very time I thought that all these drawings were practices, assurances, philosophical and existential studies for his final paintings, because all elements in his drawings were also found in his paintings. Now, I know, that these drawings represent a distinctive and autonomous expression of the artist. Some drawings take weeks for Sampath to finish but others are made by the dozen in only one night. It seems that a primal force in his works sometimes just wants to destroy the medium on which it is used.

Once, somebody told me ‘paintings can fill rooms, whereas drawings cause tension in a room’. I personally find this tension and the way it is created very exciting. Drawings don’t forgive any failures. Drawings are precious documents of our fragile beingness.

Gerd PueschelBerlin, April 2016

LOVERS, Acrylic & Charcoal on Paper, 61 x 48 cm, LKR 45,000 each

LOVERS I, 2016

LOVERS III, 2016

LOVERS II, 2015

LOVERS IV, 2015

LOVERS, Acrylic & Charcoal on Paper, 61 x 48 cm, LKR 45,000 each

LOVERS V, 2016

LOVERS VII, 2016

LOVERS VI, 2016

LOVERS VIII, 2016

LOVERS, Acrylic & Charcoal on Paper, 61 x 48 cm, LKR 45,000 each

LOVERS IX, 2015

LOVERS XI, 2016

LOVERS X, 2015

LOVERS XII, 2016

LOVERS, Acrylic & Charcoal on Paper, 61 x 48 cm, LKR 45,000 each

LOVERS XIII, 2016

LOVERS XV, 2016

LOVERS XIV, 2016

LOVERS XVII, 2016LOVERS XVI, 2016

LOVERS, Acrylic & Charcoal on Paper, 61 x 48 cm, LKR 45,000 each

LOVERS XVIII, 2016

HOPE II, 2016

HOPE I, 2015

ISOLATION II, 2016ISOLATION I, 2015

LOVERS, Acrylic & Charcoal on Paper, 61 x 48 cm, LKR 45,000 each

CALM I, 2015

STILLNESS I, 2015

CALM II, 2015

STILLNESS II, 2015

LOVERS, Acrylic & Charcoal on Paper, 61 x 48 cm, LKR 45,000 each

RESISTANCE I, 2015

RESISTANCE III, 2015

RESISTANCE II, 2015

ANXIETY, 2016

LOVERS, Acrylic & Charcoal on Paper, 61 x 48 cm, LKR 45,000 each

SHADOWS, 2015 MASK, 2015

ESCAPE I, 2015 ESCAPE II, 2015

LOVERS, Acrylic & Charcoal on Paper, 61 x 48 cm, LKR 45,000 each

SHADOW I, 2015 SHADOW II, 2016

SHADOW III, 2016 SUN DOWN, 2016ECSTASY, 2015

LOVERS, Acrylic & Charcoal on Paper, 61 x 48 cm, LKR 45,000 each

CALM I, 2015 CALM II, 2015

THE THINKER, 2016 THE MOMENT BEFORE, 2016FLY AWAY, 2016

LOVERS, Acrylic & Charcoal on Paper, 61 x 48 cm, LKR 45,000 each

SOLITUDE, 2015

THE DREAMER II, 2016 COMMUNICATION, 2016

THE DREAMER I, 2015

LOVERS, Acrylic & Charcoal on Paper, 61 x 48 cm, LKR 45,000 each

DISPERSE, 2015

FULFILLMENT, 2015

FANTASIZING, 2015

LONELINESS, 2015

SAMPATH AMUNUGAMA b. 1975

Education2006 Postgraduate Diploma in Archeology, Postgraduate Institute of Archeology, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka2004 BFA (Painting), Institute of Aesthetic Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka

Solo Exhibitions2010 Exhibition of Paintings, Paradise Road Galleries, Colombo, Sri Lanka2009 Exhibition of Paintings, Paradise Road Galleries, Colombo, Sri Lanka2008 Exhibition of Paintings, Paradise Road Galleries, Colombo, Sri Lanka2007 Exhibition of Paintings, Paradise Road Galleries, Colombo, Sri Lanka2005 Exhibition of Paintings, Paradise Road Galleries, Colombo, Sri Lanka2005 Exhibition of Paintings, Lionel Wendt Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka

Group Exhibitions (Selected)2016 Sri Lankan Art, organized by The George Keyt Foundation, J.D.A. Perera Gallery, University of Visual and Performing Arts, Colombo, Sri Lanka 2015 Sri Lankan Art, organized by The George Keyt Foundation, J.D.A. Perera Gallery, University of Visual and Performing Arts, Colombo, Sri Lanka2013 Sri Lankan Art, organized by The George Keyt Foundation, J.D.A. Perera Gallery, University of Visual and Performing Arts, Colombo, Sri Lanka2012 Nawa Kalakaruwo, organized by The George Keyt Foundation, J.D.A. Perera Gallery, University of Visual and Performing Arts, Colombo, Sri Lanka2011 Sri Lankan Art, organized by The George Keyt Foundation, National Art Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka2010 Nawa Kalakaruwo, organized by The George Keyt Foundation, National Art Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka

2008 World Open Art Festival, South Korea 2008 Expressions Of Independence, The Mona Bismarck Foundation, Paris, France2007 Sri Lankan Art, organized by The George Keyt Foundation, National Art Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka 2007 Nawa Kalakaruwo, organized by The George Keyt Foundation, National Art Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka2006 Nawa Kalakaruwo, organized by The George Keyt Foundation, National Art Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka2005 88 Group Exhibition of Contemporary Art in Sri Lanka, organized by The George Keyt Foundation, Harold Peiris Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka2004 Nawa Kalakaruwo, organized by The George Keyt Foundation, Harold Peiris Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka2004 Young Contemporaries, organized by The George Keyt Foundation, Harold Peiris Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka2003 11th Asian Art Biennale, Dhaka, Bangladesh2003 Young Contemporaries, organized by The George Keyt Foundation, Harold Peiris Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka2002 Annual Art Exhibition, organized by The Ceylon Society of Arts, National Art Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka2002 Young Contemporaries, organized by The George Keyt Foundation, Harold Peiris Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka2002 State Paintings & Sculpture Award Festival, organized by The Ministry of Cultural Affairs, National Art Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka2001 Youth Awards Festival, organized by The National Youth Council Services, Colombo, Sri Lanka2000 Young Contemporaries, organized by The George Keyt Foundation, Harold Peiris Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka1998 Annual Art Exhibition, organized by The Ceylon Society of Arts, National Art Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka1995 Art Exhibition, organized by The National Youth Council Services, Kandy, Sri Lanka

AWARDS2006 Merit Award, Young Contemporaries, organized by The George Keyt Foundation, Colombo, Sri Lanka2004 3rd Prize, Young Contemporaries, organized by The George Keyt Foundation, Colombo, Sri Lanka2000 2nd Prize, Art Exhibition, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka2000 Merit Award, National Youth Awards Festival, National Youth Council Services, Kandy, Sri Lanka1995 1st Prize, Art Exhibition, organized by the National Youth Council Services, Kandy, Sri Lanka

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EMAIL: art@paradiseroad.lk