NYT spotlight on Thenuwara at Frieze London
In its October 8 issue, the New York Times in an article titled ‘At Frieze London, a Web of Art Circling the World’ reviewed a current exhibition in London highlighting the work of Sri Lankan artist Chandragupta Thenuwara who is one of the 18 artists taking part.
Published here are the relevant extracts:
Thenuwara as featured in the NYT. Pic by Tavish Gunasena
In Buddhism and Hinduism, Indra’s net floats over the globe, protectively, revealing interconnectedness of life. It’s an image that seemed ideal for the curator Sandhini Poddar, who was invited to create a special section at Frieze London (Wednesday through Sunday) for lesser-known galleries from around the world.
The image of an earthly net is about inclusion, Ms. Poddar said, but also could been seen as the fragility of connectedness in a world divided by environmental issues and the reality of wars past and present.
“Indra’s Net,” which will feature 18 artists from galleries from Asia to Latin America, is a chance for smaller galleries to get a bit of the spotlight at a major art fair. Ms. Poddar, a London-based curator of Asian art for the Guggenheim Museum in New York, is also helping to curate the Asian and African galleries at the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, which after many years of delay is scheduled to open in 2025.
Finding artwork from around the world has led her to many tucked-away galleries and artists.
The visual artist Martha Atienza who lives on Bantayan Island in the Philippines, has documented the plight of the families that make their living from fishing. Atienza’s installation for Frieze London is “The Protectors,” a 75-minute silent black-and-white film that simply shows a fisherman at work on his boat.
“It’s very immersive and feels dreamy,” Ms. Lorenzo said. “It’s on a continuous loop so you don’t know where it starts or ends. He’s like a mythological hero.”
Thenuwara’s work: Reminiscence IV Lotuses
That heroic status can certainly be applied to the Sri Lankan artist Chandraguptha Thenuwara, who will be represented by Saskia Fernando Gallery in Colombo, Sri Lanka (both are making their Frieze London debuts).
As the economic crisis that erupted in the country this summer continues, Mr. Thenuwara’s work feels even more urgent, said Saskia Fernando, the owner of the gallery.
“His work is completely dedicated to his life as an activist, and he has been at the forefront of this for several decades,” Ms. Fernando said.
The Sri Lankan civil war from 1983 to 2009 defines much of Mr. Thenuwara’s work, and Frieze London will be no exception. Four small brass-cast sculptures and about 25 drawings, all focusing on corruption, militarization and nationalism, are an extension of his installation titled “Covert,” which he is showing at the Venice Biennale this year.
“Coincidentally, the installation in Venice combined early bodies of his work spanning three decades,” Ms. Fernando said, “and it debuted at the time that the Sri Lanka protests erupted earlier this year.”
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