Jagath Weerasinghe Sri Lanka, b. 1954

Source: Saskia Fernando Gallery

Jagath Weerasinghe (b.1954, Moratuwa; lives and works in Athurugiriya) is a pivotal figure in contemporary Sri Lankan art and has been a significant driving force in its development since the early 1990s. Weerasinghe’s work is marked by a frenzied, passionate expressiveness highlighted through intense gestural brushwork. Weerasinghe’s compositions display a pervasive sense of tragedy that shows an urgent concern with the contemporary political order both locally and globally. Weerasinghe examines and critiques Sri Lankan anxieties, responding to collective attitudes—as he observes them, taking themes such as nationhood, religion, identity, and confrontation for commentary. Weerasinghe’s practice does not merely reflect disillusionment but extends into an observation of the systemic issues that perpetuate extremism and violence, offering a critical view of the forces shaping contemporary global conflicts.