By Naveed Rozais
Following in the tradition of galleries across the world, the Saskia Fernando Gallery will be holding its first-ever stockroom art sale from 18-20 September at the J.D.A. Perera Gallery.
Stockroom art sales are traditionally held by art galleries for their artists to showcase and sell existing work from previous exhibitions to the public. Speaking on this new initiative, Saskia Fernando Gallery Owner and Founder Sakia Fernando shared that a stockroom art sale is an exciting way for Saskia Fernando Gallery’s artists to showcase their work for sale.
“The idea of annual art sales came up. It’s something galleries all over the world do, and we felt this would be an interesting way to create a sale experience,” Fernando said.
The J.D.A. Perera Gallery is a three-storey gallery. “We decided to take over another space to be able to show more inventory at one time. The Saskia Fernando Gallery is also being renovated and will be reopened in October, so this is a chance for us to showcase our artists in a way that creates a new, fun experience. The response to the stockroom art sale has been very encouraging and we hope to make it an annual event.”
As the stockroom art sale is first and foremost a sale, it gives artists the ability to showcase their work differently than they would in an exhibition setting.
Spred out over three days, the stockroom art sale will feature existing work from previous exhibitions by several Saskia Fernando Gallery artists including Abdul Halik Azeez, Chudamani Clowes, Fabienne Francotte, Firi Rahman, Gayan Prageeth, Hashan Cooray, Kanesh Thabendran, Kingsley Gunatillake, Mika Tennekoon, Muvindu Binoy, Namal Kumara, Nuwan Nalaka, Pakkiyarajah Pushpakanthan, Priyantha Weerasooriya, Ruwan Prasanna, Savesan Nallaiah, and Thujiba Vijayalayan.
The Saskia Fernando Gallery is one of Sri Lanka’s foremost galleries and curators. Established in 2009, the gallery has played an important role in introducing an international audience to contemporary Sri Lankan art, alongside establishing a dialogue between local artists and institutions.
Representing the leading and emerging artists working in Sri Lanka and/or of Sri Lankan descent, the Saskia Fernando Gallery’s multidisciplinary approach to represent work is aimed at exposing the island’s maturity in the contemporary art scene. To date, the gallery has collaborated on group and solo exhibitions with galleries and curators in London, Los Angeles, Dubai, and Singapore.
In addition to the Saskia Fernando Gallery’s exhibition-led calendar, its projects include Collector’s Desk launched in 2016, a platform founded in association with ARTRA magazine with the intention to advise and inform collectors. Moreover, Ya Connect founded in 2019, organised in association with Hatch, took the form of an artist-in-residence and talk platform in the city’s largest coworking space, drawing paralells between art, communities, and tech.
The annual Saskia Fernando Gallery stockroom art sale will take from 18-20 September 2020 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the J.D.A Perera Gallery.
