Revive: An auction in honour of Jayantha Premachandra

The Jayantha Premachandra Foundation in collaboration with the Embassy of France for Sri Lanka and the Maldives presents “Revive” – an auction of famed artworks from the late Jayantha Premachandra along with a viewing of his works. The event will be held on 28 February at The 1864 Galle Face Hotel – exclusively to invitees – and all funds raised will be in aid of uplifting Ward 16 at the Colombo General Hospital. 

Brunch had a chat with the daughter of the renowned artist and Founder of the Jayantha Premachandra Foundation Nilanka Premachandra on what to expect at the auction and more. 

Introducing us to the Jayantha Premachandra Foundation, she shared that it was established as a charity foundation, and one of its primary objectives is to pay tribute and revive Jayantha Premachandra’s art legacy whilst serving as a charity foundation to help various social causes and concerns. 

“We intend to carry out fundraisers, awareness events for identified causes. We will strive to promote art, encourage young and upcoming artists in Sri Lanka, and also wish to give recognition and support to artists from my father’s era, whose talent may not be recognised or unknown due to lack of support or opportunities to bring out their works,” she stated. This auction is one such awareness programme where invitees will have the opportunity to glimpse and purchase these renowned art pieces. 

We dived deeper into what exactly makes these art pieces so unique and in demand, and why many are clamouring for an invite to this exclusive auction. Premachandra told Brunch that her father’s art, particularly his paintings, reflect his life experiences from his childhood in Sri Lanka to his student life in the Soviet Union. Many illustrations depict effects of socialism as well as global, social, and political events during that era. 

She added that his style, in the latter part of his life, changed to more liberal forms depicting freedom, love and compassion, acceptance, and moving towards peace. “His philosophy of art expression is very emotional, melodic, romantic, and spiritual, and he tended to utilise art to convey what he had learned, experienced, and felt using a variety of materials such as paper, canvas, mosaic, cement, fabric, and so on,” she explained. It’s the fact that Jayantha Premachandra used his artistic skills to communicate Sri Lankan culture, livelihood, and way of life to Europe and Asia via paintings and batiks, that make so many want to own his works of art. 

Premachandra also used different materials and forms of art to depict his creations. “He utilised several pre-digital mediums such as paper, wall paper, oil, acrylic, fabric, batiks, and murals. His ability to paint on cement, as displayed in his mural on the 11th floor of the People’s Bank building, is an example of his talent, since the colours are still vibrant and have withstood the test of time,” Premachandra told us, adding that another method he used was batik, in which he sketched on cloth and then applied the batik process to it. He also has painted on the finished batik wall hangings, and used the mosaic technique to express himself too.

The man was so skilled and blessed with sheer talent that his unique style progressed with time as he experimented with new art concepts and techniques, and his art also reflected his political and personal ideologies. Premachandra shared that his exposure to many different cultures, ideologies, and environments is also depicted in his wide spectrum of styles and subjects from traditional to modern abstract art forms: “Towards the end of my father’s life, his paintings were primarily modern and abstract.” 

When talking about what else the Jayantha Premachandra Foundation has in store for the future, Premachandra told us that the foundation will hold periodic exhibitions exhibiting a restricted number of Jayantha Premachandra’s greatest pieces. 

“I’m not sure how many of these will be offered for auction or sale at this time, but we will sell a limited number selectively,” she noted, urging anyone who wished to get involved to contact them via their social media platforms. 

Facebook: @ArtistJayanthaPremachandra 

Instagram: @j.premachandra