Jayantha Premachandra (1935 – 1988)
“Martin Wickramasinghe described him as an artist who embraced both representational art and modern abstract art. Wickramasinghe further stated that he saw three aspects in Premachandra’s art – representation, communication and decoration. It looks like he was an artist who had some serious creativity after the 43 Group.” Nilanka Premachandra
Born in Colombo in 1935, Jayantha Premachandra refined his craft at the Heywood Institute of Art (now the University of the Visual and Performing Arts), followed by a special degree at Moscow’s Art and Industry Institute. Early in his career, he was invited to represent Sri Lanka at the inaugural Youth Festival in Helsinki, Finland—where he presented a solo exhibition—and later became the first Sri Lankan to exhibit solo in the National Museum of Modern Art in Baghdad, Iraq, as well as the Ksiazki Gallery in Olsztyn, Poland. Over nearly three decades (1959–1988), he held more than 40 solo exhibitions and participated in group exhibitions across Russia, Bulgaria, Iraq, the UK, Germany, the Nordic countries, France, the Netherlands, and Sri Lanka.
Premachandra’s early paintings retained a strong realist sensibility—powerfully exemplified in his portrait of Yuri Gagarin, gifted to the astronaut by Premachandra himself in the 1960s. As he matured, his work incorporated Sri Lankan cultural motifs—especially batik and mural forms of the 1970s. Scandinavian audiences embraced these vibrantly patterned batik pieces. By the late 1970s and 1980s, his canvases evolved toward abstraction, where influences from Cubism, Post-Impressionism, Neo‑ and Abstract Expressionism, Suprematism, and other modernist currents merged into a distinct personal idiom—imbued with themes of freedom, love, compassion, and peace.
He was not only a painter but also an illustrator, muralist, and designer, serving as Chief Designer at Thulhiriya Textile Mills and teaching art at Wesley College and Buddhist Ladies College in the 1960s and 70s. He experimented with mosaics and murals and applied his vision to public artworks, such as the mural on the 11th floor of Colombo’s People’s Bank building. Across all media, his art spoke to the human condition, blending cultural pride with social awareness and a universal humanitarian ethos. From socialist-era realism through luminous batik to abstract expressions of universal values, Premachandra’s legacy stands as a vibrant bridge between Sri Lanka and the global modern art movement.
Following his unexpected death in April 1988 in Paris, a long-planned solo exhibition at Boston’s Concord Free Public Library was cancelled. In 2024, this show was finally staged as Art of Jayantha Premachandra at J.D.A. Perera Gallery, with MIT scholar Dr. Alan Lightman participating as chief guest. An academically researched book on his life and art, written by Professor Jagath Ravindra, was launched at the same event. Through the ongoing work of the Jayantha Premachandra Foundation, led by his daughter Nilanka, his oeuvre is being celebrated and used to uplift emerging local artists and support community causes.
Solo Exhibitions
Year | Exhibition | Venue |
2025 | 90th Birthday Commemoration Exhibition of Jayantha Premachandra | Alliance Française, Colombo, Sri Lanka |
2024 | Art of Jayantha Premachandra | J.D.A Perera Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka |
2022 – 2023 | Art Collection | The Residence of the U.S Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Colombo, Sri Lanka |
2022 | Revive: Charity Auction | 1864, Galle Face Hotel, Sri Lanka |
1991 | UNESCO Exhibition | Paris, France |
1987 | A.R.C – Ateliers de Recherche et de Creation, Clichy, France | |
1986 | Hotel Montparnasse, Paris, France | |
1986 | Café De la Paix, Paris | |
1984 | Exhibition of Paintings | Prague, Czechoslovakia (Czech Republic) |
1984 | Institute Italiano Peril Medio e Estremo Oriente, Rome, Italy | |
1983 | Armenia Art Gallery, Yerevan, USSR (Armenia) | |
1982 | Flower Gallery, Winterswijk, Holland | |
1982 | Music Gallery, Ewan, Holland | |
1982 | Lionel Wendt Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka | |
1981 | Exhibition of Paintings & Batiks | Poland |
1981 | Exhibition of Paintings & Batiks | West Germany (Germany) |
1980 | Bryggens Museum, Norway | |
1980 | Tune Bibliotike Gallery, Sarpsborg, Norway | |
1980 | Exhibition of Paintings | West Germany (Germany) |
1980 | Sparekassen Gallery, Copenhagen, Denmark | |
1979 | Bundehaus, Bonn, West Germany (Germany) | |
1979 | Denser Gallery, Cologne, West Germany (Germany) | |
1979 | Art Gallery Kurt or Mine, Sarpsborg, Norway | |
1979 | Ksiazki Gallery, Olsztyn, Poland | |
1978 | Exhibition of Paintings | Denmark |
1978 | Tekniske, Namnduhust, Sweden | |
1978 | Cloockenhaus, Lineburg, West Germany (Germany) | |
1978 | Kunsterns Floring Gallery, Hamar, Norway | |
1977 | Die Vereins and West Bank Gallery, Hamburg, West Germany (Germany) | |
1977 | Privatebanken Gallery, Holte, Denmark | |
1977 | Norsk Skoghbruks Museum, Elverrum, Norway | |
1977 | Upsala Bank Gallery, Norrtälje, Sweden | |
1976 | Hegasretan Gallery, Stokholm, Sweden | |
1976 | National Museum of Modern Art, Baghdad, Iraq | |
1968 | USIS Cultural Centre, Lionel Wendt, Colombo, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) | |
1968 | Exhibition of Paintings and Mosaics | Kandy, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) |
1967 | Alliance Francaise, Colombo, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) | |
1966 | Exhibition of Paintings and Mosaics | Colombo, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) |
1964 | Ceylon Tea Centre, London, United Kingdom | |
1963 | Art Society Gallery, Sophia, Bulgaria | |
1963 | Cremian House, Yalta, USSR (Ukraine) | |
1963 | International Friendship Gallery, Kalinin Street, Moscow, USSR (Russia) | |
1963 | USSR (Armenia) | |
1962 | Friendship Gallery, Tashkent, USSR (Uzbekistan)/ Lanka Soviet Friendship League Headquarters, Green Path, Colombo, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) | |
1962 | Komini Gallery, Helsinki, Finland | |
1960 | Kandy, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) | |
1959 | Colombo, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) | |
1958 | Colombo, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) |
Publications
Year | Publication |
2025 | Commemorating Jayantha Premachandra At the Alliance Française. Life Online, Colombo, Sri Lanka. 29th January 2025. |
2024 | Art of Jayantha Premachandra. Written by Jagath Ravindra. Published by Jayantha Premachandra Foundation. |
2024 | Jayantha Premachandra’s Canvas of Humanity: Brushstrokes of Compassion. Daily Mirror, Colombo, Sri Lanka. 26th March 2024. |
2024 | Exhibition, Book Launch and Charity Auction Art of Jayantha Premachandra. Daily Mirror, Colombo, Sri Lanka. 6th June 2024. |
2024 | A Celebration of Art and Legacy of Jayantha Premachandra. Daily Mirror, Colombo, Sri Lanka. 22nd May 2024. |
2021 | The Jayantha Premachandra Foundation. Daily News, Colombo, Sri Lanka. 30th December 2021. |
2022 | Reviving the Legacy of Jayantha Premachandra. Hi Magazine, Colombo, Sri Lanka.11th January 2022. |
2022 | Jayantha Premachandra Revisited. Ada Derana Business, Colombo, Sri Lanka. 25th April 2022. |
2022 | Jayantha Premachandra Foundation Presents Revive. Daily Mirror, Colombo, Sri Lanka. 22nd February 2022. |
2022 | An Auction for a Cause by the Jayantha Premachandra Foundation. Daily Mirror, Colombo, Sri Lanka. 22nd February 2022. |
2022 | A Bold and Colourful Imprint. Artra Magazine, Colombo, Sri Lanka. 1st March 2022. |
2021 | Embrace of Modern Abstract Art. Daily News, Colombo, Sri Lanka. 30th December 2021. |
Ref :JP1
Title :Face Cuts
Signed :Lower Right
Year :1986
Measurements in Cms :46 x 32
Material Used :Mixed Media on Paper
Education
Year | Qualification | Institute |
Special Degree | Art and Industrial University, Moscow, USSR. | |
Art | Heywood Institute of Art, Colombo, Sri Lanka. |
