Gayan Prageeth

Sri Lanka

Gayan Prageeth’s (b. 1980, Sri Lanka) work is characterised by a Sri Lankan specific iconography and bears a sensitive awareness of ongoing environmental and political issues. The combination of intricate acrylic painting with fine ink drawings on rice paper, pasted on the canvas, creates a sharp visual style through which the artist critiques the socio-political environment in Sri Lanka. He makes use of ready-made material in his installations in a subtle commentary of the ethnic divide in the country.

His work illustrates the turmoil of the civil war through installation and geometric symbolism – a combination of works that demonstrate not only Sri Lanka’s ruptured history but also the current state of many countries around the world. Gayan earned a BFA in Painting (2009) from University of Visual and Performing Arts, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

His work has been exhibited at India Art Fair (2024), ‘Crossing Place‘ Baik Art Gallery, Los Angeles (2019), Art Dubai, UAE (2018), Colombo Art Biennale, Sri Lanka( 2016), Mandala Art Gallery, Singapore (2015), and the 13th Asian Art Biennale, Bangladesh (2008) and his works belong to private collections in Asia and Europe.

In the South Asian region, there exists a belief that the origin of all things is tied to water. Life itself aligns with this idea, as water is vital for sustaining the life cycle. Just as water determines the origin of life, it is also crucial for its continuation. Its influence on the entire ecosystem is significant, affecting both internal processes and external impacts.

Water possesses a mysterious and wondrous quality, both on the surface and in its depths, with much of what occurs often beyond our perception.
Through the metaphor of the lotus flower, which germinates from the murky waters, I explore not only what is visible but also the impact of unseen forces. There is always more happening beyond what meets the eye—events unfolding constantly.

The future, or even the next moment, holds deeper occurrences that influence us more profoundly than we realize. We are often conscious of only a fraction of what is happening, while much more remains hidden beneath the surface.

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