Shrine Empire Gallery

Bio CV Exhibitions

Rose Wallpaper Series III
Rose Wallpaper Series II
Rose Wallpaper Series I
Swarnabhumi Series 3
Swarnabhumi Series 1
Memory Cache
Swarnabhumi Series 2
Left Behinder: Bed

Education

1991 Artworks: The Visual Art School for Continuing Education, Princeton, New Jersey, USA (Short

Course on Stone Carving & Apprenticeship under sculptor Milt Liebson at Artworks 1989 StudioThree: Adult Education Art Group. Continuing Education Program, Santa Barbara City College,

California, USA.

1986 Post Graduate Diploma in International Affairs. Bandaranaike Center for International Studies,

Sri Lanka.

1984 B.A in Political Science, Sociology, and Economics. University of Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Solo Exhibitions

2024

Debris Collector, Shrine Empire, Delhi

2022

Monsters and Mortals, Barefoot Gallery, Sri Lanka

2018

The City: Janus Faced, Shrine Empire Gallery, New Delhi, India

2016

Memory Keeper, Hempel Galleries, Colombo, Sri Lanka

2013

Memory Keeper, Shrine Empire Gallery, New Delhi, India

2012

Comfort Zones, Kashi Gallery, Kochi, India

2011

Kuveni: The Queen of Lanka, Hempel Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka

2007

Comfort Zones, Red Dot Gallery, Pita Kotte, Sri Lanka.

2003

Goddesses Descending. Studio @ HW Architects, Colombo, Sri Lanka

2001

In the Entangled Web. Barefoot Gallery, Sri Lanka

1999

My Narratives. Gallery 706, Colombo, Sri Lanka

1998

The Vehicle Named Woman. Heritage Gallery. Colombo, Sri Lanka

Self Help. International art exhibition in Malmö, Växjö, Örebro and Stockholm in Sweden.

Represented Asia with a collection of work consisting of paintings and installations.1997

Aditi, an exhibition of paintings. Lionel Wendt Gallery. Colombo, Sri Lanka

1995

Aditi, an exhibition of paintings and sculpture. Lionel Wendt Gallery. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Aditi, an

exhibition of sculpture. Hotel Ceylon Inter-Continental. Colombo, Sri Lanka.

1993

An Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture. The Alliance Francaise De Colombo Gallery. Colombo, Sri

Lanka

1992

An Exhibition of Paintings and Sculpture. The Students’ Centre. Chancellor Green Hall, Princeton

University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA

1991

An Exhibition of Paintings. University Centre Gallery. University of California, Santa Barbara, USA.

An Exhibition of Paintings at “Nicoleti” (University Centre). University of California, Santa Barbara,

California, USA.

Group Exhibitions

2026

The Meeting Ground, Christies’s London in collaboration with KNMA

प्रक्रिया / Process’, Shrine Empire, New Delhi 2026

Taragaon Next Museum, Kathmandu, Nepal

India Art Fair, New Delhi

2025

Feminist Futures: Art Activism and South Asia Womanhood, Taragaon Next Museum, Kathmandu,

Nepal.

Feminist Futures: Art Activism and South Asia Womanhood, Lotus Gallery, National Museum,

Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Summations of Distraction, MiAC Gallery, Millenium Art Contemporary, Arthurugiriya, Sri Lanka.

After Aphantasias, Bikaner House, Shrine Empire, New Delhi.

Open Day, Art Rhizome, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Delhi Contemporary Art Week, Bikaner House, New Delhi

India Art Fair, New Delhi

2024

Delhi Contemporary Art Week, Bikaner House, New Delhi, India.

India Art Fair, New Delhi, India

Art Mumbai, Mumbai, India

The Collective, Art Now, Singapore.

KALA, Lionel Wendt Art Centre, Sri Lanka.

Scapes, Curado Art Collective, Colombo.

2023

MAP, Bangalore, India.

Ishara Art Foundation, Dubai, UAE.

Art Dubai, Shrine Empire.

India Art Fair, Shrine Empire, New Delhi, India.

Witness(eth), Galle Face Hotel, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

2022

Vision of India.From Colonial to the contemporary, Monash Gallery of Art, Australia.

Delhi Contemporary Art Week, Bikaner House, New Delhi, India.

2021

Fantasy of having a trailer wagon all to myself, Tatiana de Stempel & GALLERY 46, London, UK.

Delhi Contemporary Art Week, Bikaner House, New Delhi, India.

(ME)(MORY), Vadehra Gallery, New Delhi, India.

#NotYourAverage, Zaaman Art, Islamabad, Pakistan.

It Didn’t Last Long, 1864 – Galle Face, Hotel, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

2020

Mutant, Aknoon Art Gallery, Tehran, Iran.

2019

Colombo Scope: Sea Change: As Tide Turns, Rio Complex, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Delhi Art Contemporary Week, Visual Art Gallery & Open Palm Court Gallery, India Habitat Centre,

New Delhi, India.

One Hundred Thousand Small Tales, Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Colombo, Sri

Lanka.Greetings from India, 5th Edition of Jimei x Arles International Photo Festival, China.

The Day We Screamed, Red Dot Gallery, Sri Lanka.

Contemporary Sri Lankan Art : A Cross Section Iranian Cultural Center at Sri Lanka.

2018

India Art Fair, NSIC Exhibition Grounds, Okhla, New Delhi, India.

Lapses, Sakshi Gallery, Mumbai, India.

The Edge, Bikaner House, New Delhi, India.

4th Edition of Kochi Muziris Biennale, Aspinwall Hall, Fort Kochi, Kochi, India.

2017

India Art Fair, NSIC Exhibition Grounds, Okhla, New Delhi, India.

Lapses, Harrington Street Arts Centre, Kolkata, India.

Tale of Two Cities, Red Dot Art Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Portraits of Intervention, Aicon Gallery, New York, USA.

Return in Search of Stillness, Sciennes Gallery, Summer Hall, Edinburgh, UK.

Dhaka Art Summit, Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy, Dhaka, Bangladesh.

2016

India Art Fair, NSIC Exhibition Grounds, Okhla, New Delhi, India.

Imagined Futures and Reconstructed Pasts, Bikaner House, New Delhi, India.

Tale of Two Cities, Indira Gandhi National Center for Arts, New Delhi, India.

Tale of Two Cities, Adil Shah Palace, Goa, India.

2015

India Art Fair, NSIC Exhibition Grounds, Okhla, New Delhi, India.

Excavation/ Eruption, Vadehra Art Gallery, New Delhi, India.

Performed, Lionel Wendt Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

2014

India Art Fair, NSIC Exhibition Grounds, Okhla, New Delhi, India.

Colombo Art Biennale, J. D. A. Perera Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Memorabilia, Gallery Sumukha, Bangalore, India.

Invented Identities, Shrine Empire Gallery, New Delhi, India.Beware: Wet Ink, Lionel Wendt Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Serendipity Revealed, Brunei Gallery, London, UK.

2013

India Art Fair, NSIC Exhibition Grounds, Okhla, New Delhi, India

Art Basel 2013, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong.

Serendipity Revealed, China Art Project Space, Hong Kong.

2012

Becoming: Colombo Art Biennale, J. D. A. Perera Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

2011

Theertha Artists at Shanthi Road, 1 Shanthi Road, Bangalore, India.

2010

Between Kismet and Karma, Leeds Art Gallery, Leeds, UK.

Artful Resistance: Contemporary Art From Sri Lanka,Museum der Weltkulturen, Frankfurt,Germany.

Creating Commonwealth, DLF Emporio Mall (by Gallery Ragini), Delhi, India.

2009

Theertha Art- Works on Paper, National Art Gallery, Male, Maldives.

Colombo Art Biennale, Park Street, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Artful Resistance: Crisis and Creativity in Sri Lanka, Museum für Völkerkunde, Austria.

Separating Myth from Reality (Art Festival), Siddhartha Gallery, Katmandu, Nepal.

2008

Six Degrees of Separation, Anant Gallery, Delhi, India.

2007

Arte Curioso, Red Dot Gallery, Pita Kotte, Sri Lanka.

Images of Globalization, National Art Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

2006

(A)critical Intimacy, Harold Peiris Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

2005

Swedish Sri Lankan Artists’ Residency Exhibition, Harold Peiris Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Ten Artists Exhibition, Millesgarden, Lidingo, Sweden

2002

2nd Fukuoka Asian Art Triennale,Fukuoka, Japan.

Asian Art Festival, Fukuoka, Japan.

‘Crafty Thoughts’, University of Liverpool Gallery, Liverpool, UK.

2000

‘Reclaiming Histories: A Retrospective Exhibition of Women’s Art’. Sapumal Foundation Gallery,

Colombo, Sri Lanka.

1999

Exhibition of selected works by women artists commemorating ‘Women’s Day’. The VAFA Gallery,

Ethul Kotte, Sri Lanka.

Third International Artists’ Camp Exhibition, National Art Gallery. Colombo, Sri Lanka.

No Order Group Exhibition’. VAFA Gallery, Ethul Kotte, Sri Lanka.

1998

INDEPENDENCE, an art exhibition to commemorate 50 years of Independence in Sri Lanka. Lionel

Wendt Art Gallery. Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Self Help Art Exhibition. Lionel Wendt Art Gallery. Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Modes and Moods. The National Art Gallery. Colombo, Sri Lanka.

1997

Nawa Kalakaruwo Exhibition. The National Art Gallery. Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Exhibition of Contemporary Sri Lankan Sculpture. The National Art Gallery. Colombo, Sri Lanka.

First International Artists’ Camp Exhibition, National Art Gallery. Colombo, Sri Lanka.

1996

Young Contemporaries Exhibition. The National Art Gallery. Colombo, Sri Lanka.

1995

Nawa Kalakaruwo Exhibition. The National Art Gallery. Colombo, Sri Lanka.

1993

Young Contemporaries Exhibition. The National Art Gallery. Colombo, Sri Lanka.

1991

Art: the Prism of the Spirit. Gallery 1434. University of California, Santa Barbara. California, USA.

1989

Spectrum. An Exhibition of Paintings. Antioch University Gallery. Santa Barbara, California, USA.Reflecting Culture Through Art. Reynolds Gallery and Kerrwood Gallery. Westmont College,

Montecito, California, USA.

Diversity, The Unfolding Mystery. University Center Gallery. University of California, Santa Barbara,

California, USA.

A Painting and Photography Exhibition. Antioch University Gallery, Santa Barbara, California, USA.

1988

A Painting Exhibition. Cabrillo Art Center. Santa Barbara, California, USA.

Faces and Figures. Pascual’s Upstairs Gallery. Santa Barbara, California, USA.

Workshops, Residencies and Symposiums

2018

Presenter in the Fast Forward 2: Women in Photography Workshop, AKJ Mass Communications

Research Center at Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi, India

2016

Panelist in the Discussion of Tale of Two cities project, Spotlight, India Art Fair, NSIC Exhibition

Grounds, Okhla, New Delhi, India.

Tale of Two Cities Residency, Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka & Varanasi, India.

2015

Panellist in the Discussion of ‘Fabric & Fabrication’, Speaker Forum, India Art Fair, NSIC Exhibition

Grounds, Okhla, New Delhi, India.

2008

Foundations & Networks International Workshop 2008, Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon, Portugal.

2003

Lijiang International Artists Workshop, Lijiang, China.

2002

Art Exchange Program. The 2nd Fukuoka Asian Art Triennale, 2002.

‘Artists and Artist-space in Asia: Growth, Interactivity and Creation’. Opening Symposium for the 2nd Fukuoka Asian Art Triennale.

Visiting Artist, Faculty of Creative Arts, University of Wollongong, Australia.

1999

Participation in the KHOJ International Artists’ Workshop, Modinagar, India.

1997

Self Help Workshop. Angelholm/Helsingborg, Sweden.

Awards

2021

WIM TOP 50 Award, 11th edition of the Professional and Career Women Award for Sri Lanka & Maldives

1999

Bunka Award for Special Achievement in Painting and Sculpture. The Japan Sri Lanka
Friendship Fund.

1994

Young Artist of the Year, Young Contemporaries Exhibition, National Art Gallery, Colombo, Sri
Lanka

Selected Publications on Art and Culture

2019

Collectivism in Contemporary Sri Lankan Art: History of an Unusual Case of Artists. In,Intersections
of Contemporary Art, Anthropology and Art History in South Asia: Decoding Visual Worlds. Ed. Dev
Nath Pathak & Sasanka Perera, 2019, New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

2018

H. A. Karunaratne, Colombo: Taprobane Collection.

2014

Theertha: A Journey by a Collective of Restless Artists. 2014. In, South Asian Network for the
Arts.Ed, Pooja Sood. New Delhi, Dhaka, Colombo and Karachi: Khoj International Artists’
Association, Britto Arts Trust, Theertha International Artists’ Collective, Vasl Artists’ Collective

2009

Celestial Fervour: A Prelude to an Exhibition. In Celestial Fervour: Art of Jagath Weersinghe,
Pitakotte: Red Dot Gallery/Theertha.

2008

Women Artists in Sri Lanka: Are They Carriers of a Women’s Burden. In South Asia Journal vol. 2,
Pitakotte: Colombo Institute/ Theertha.

2007

Men, Women and Architecture: Gender Identities and the Appropriation of Space (co-written with
Hiranthi Welandawa). Women and the Built Environment / Edited by Madhavi Desai. 1st ed. New Delhi: Zubaan.

2006

Mapping Art South Asia. Ed. John Holt, Fareda Khan, Alnoor Metha, Jacques Rangasamy and Laura Tarney, London: Shisha.

2001

Historical Overlappings (co-written with Hiranthi Welandawa). In Architecture, Time, Space, People, Vol. 1, Issue 7, October 2001. Pp. 34-48.

2000

Reclaiming Histories… Catalogue of the ‘Reclaiming Histories: Retrospective Exhibition of Women’s Art’, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

A New Order: Contemporary Visual Art in Sri Lanka. Art Asia Pacific Issue 26, Sydney, Australia.

Artists Against Violence: An Art Exhibition for Peace and Reconciliation. Catalogue of the Neelan

Thiruchelvam Commemorative Exhibition. 29th January 2000. Colombo, Sri Lanka.

Is Artist’s Freedom a Negotiated Autonomy? KHOJ India International Artists Workshop 1999

catalogue. New Delhi, India.

New Strokes in ‘Independent Art.’ Introduction to the exhibition of paintings commemorating 50

years of Sri Lankan independence. The Sunday Leader, 15th February 1998, Colombo.

1999

State of Sri Lankan Art. ‘Frontline.’ Issue of February 26th 1999. Chennai, India.

Signs and Portents: An Exhibition of Artworks. Review of exhibition by Yvonne Wiegers. Daily News.

9th June 1999, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

1998

After a Dialogue with Two Artists. Review of ‘Dialogue’, Christa Weber’s and Jagath Weerasinghe’s exhibition of paintings. Daily News, 28th January 1998, Colombo.

Angels. Review of Balbir Bodh’s exhibition of paintings. Sunday Observer Magazine, 7th June 1998,
Colombo

1997

Defining Authenticity. Catalogue of the 1st International Artists Camp, Kandalama, Sri Lanka. Reading the Art of Sensibility. Review of ‘The Art of Sensibility’, H.A Karunratne’s exhibition of paintings. Sunday Leader, 1st September 1997, Colombo.

A Socio-Political Reading of Yanthra Gala and the Round Pilgrimage. Review of Yanthra Gala and the Round Pilgrimage, the exhibition of paintings and installation by Jagath Weerasinghe. Daily News,

8th October 1997, Colombo.

Anoli Perera (b.1962) is a Sri Lankan artist based out of New Delhi and Colombo. She has completed her education from Sri Lanka and USA. Anoli has deployed her work to present contradictory as well as complex narratives that emerge when living in contemporary society, processed through an artist’s perception. Tapping her personal family histories and her own existence in a particular historical moment that allows her to see the extremities of two eras, Perera intimately looks back and forth into memory, nostalgia, dispositions of home/family, mass migrations, borders, gender, urbanity, and dystopia. Perera’s current art practice includes painting, sculpture, installation art, video, and photo- performances. Her work incorporates the concept of ‘bricolage’ where fragments from different written texts, raw materials, objects, and painted surfaces are juxtaposed together giving a textured surface. At present, she uses cloth, thread, lace, and paper as raw material for her sculptures and installations. Perera’s art practice is labour-intensive, an exercise through which she locates herself in the intermediate zone between craft and art. As a founding member of Theertha Artists Collective, she has played an instrumental role as an institution builder, supporting her peers in revitalizing the arts in Colombo through strategic programming, workshops and international collaborations. Her own aesthetic interventions — political, personal and feminist — ushered in a new wave of art making in Sri Lanka from the 1990s onwards.

Some of her important exhibitions include “Debris Collector,” Shrine Empire, New Delhi, India (2024); “Pivot Glide Echo” by KALA, curated by Mariyam Begum under the guidance of Sandhini Poddar, Sri Lanka (2024); Art Dubai with Shrine Empire, Dubai, UAE (2023); Museum of Art and Photography, Bangalore, India (2023); Ishara Art Foundation, Dubai, (2023); “Vision of India. From Colonial to the Contemporary,” Monash Gallery of Art, Australia (2022); “Fantasy of having a trailer wagon all to myself,” Tatiana de Stempel & GALLERY 46, London, UK (2021); “One Hundred Thousand Small Tale,” Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Colombo, Sri Lanka (2019); 5th Edition of Jimei x Arles International Photo Festival, China (2019); 4th Edition of Kochi Muziris Biennale, Kerala, India (2018); Portraits of Intervention, Aicon Gallery, New York, USA (2017); Serendipity Arts Festival, Adil Shah Palace, Goa (2016); Colombo Art Biennale (2014); Art Basel Hongkong (2013); Museum der Weltkulturen, Frankfurt, Germany (2010); Museum für Völkerkunde, Austria (2009); Millesgarden, Lidingo, Sweden (2005); 2nd Fukuoka Asian Art Triennale, Fukouk, Japan (2002) amongst others.

Recently, Anoli won the 2021 WIM TOP 50 Award, 11th edition of the Professional and Career Women Award for Sri Lanka & Maldives. Her works are in the collections of Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, Ishara Art Foundation, Dubai; Museum of Art and Photography, Bangalore; Devi Art Foundation and Goldman Sachs amongst others.