Koralegedara Pushpakumara

Koralegedara Pushpakumara, born in 1968 in Gampola, Kandy, received his BFA degree in painting in 1997 from the Institute of Aesthetic Studies, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. In 2003, he obtained a diploma in Archaeology, University of Kelaniya. He has received many awards including the 1st for painting in 1995 at the Youth Services Council Awards Festival, Sri Lanka. In 1999, he received the 1st place for painting while obtaining 2nd place for Installation and sculpture at the State Festival of Arts, Sri Lanka.

Pushpakumara was part of the No Order Group established in 1990’s and is one of the early artists of the ‘90’s Trend.’ He has exhibited extensively in Sri Lanka and has taken part in many international workshops and art events in India, Sweden, Pakistan, and the Netherlands. His ‘Goodwill Hardware’ series and its latter developments, which began in the post-war era in Sri Lanka has been highly acclaimed and have been exhibited at the Theertha Red Dot Gallery, Colombo; the Colombo Art Biennale and at Hempel Galleries in Colombo. He is a core group member and director of Theertha International Artists Collective, Colombo an artists-led initiative working to promote contemporary art in Sri Lanka.

“My canvases contain both motifs, doodling patches and figurative forms. Using these seemingly conflicting artistic methods, I illustrate the socio- political existence in post-war Sri Lanka. On the other hand, these works of art articulate that strategically organized state mechanisms and the other powerful groups are continuously carrying out inhuman actions in the same way, but in seemingly separate ways.” – Koralagedara Pushpakumara