Swanee Jayawardene
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Swanee Jayawardene
| Swanee Jayawardene | |
|---|---|
| File:Swanee Jayawardene.jpgSwanee Jayawardene.jpg | |
| Born | 22/June/1930 |
| 🏫 Education | Good Shepherd’s Convent |
| 💼 Occupation | |
| Known for | Painter, Artist, Teacher |
| Movement | Colombo '43 Group |
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Swanee Jayawardene (born Suvenitha Monica Jayawardene; 1930 – 2010) was a Sri Lankan modernist painter and textile artist. She was a member of the Colombo ’43 Group from 1954 and exhibited regularly with the group in Sri Lanka and internationally.[1]. Her work was shown in national and international exhibitions from the late 1940s onwards, and she later developed an experimental batik and textile practice alongside painting[2].
Life and education
Jayawardene was born on 22nd June 1930 in Koralawella, Sri Lanka (then Ceylon). She was educated at Good Shepherd’s Convent, Kotahena. She received formal art training under K. S. Perera and Cora Abraham, before attending the art school conducted by Stanley Abeysinghe, one of the leading figures in modern art education in Ceylon[3]
In the same year, at the age of 17, she won the highest award at the annual competitive exhibition organized by the Ceylon Art Society, marking her early recognition as a painter. On the advice of Geoffrey Beiling, she subsequently trained under Harry Pieris, both of whom were prominent and influential members of the Colombo ’43 Group.
Career
Painting and drawing
Jayawardene began her career as a painter and draughtswoman, working primarily in drawing, watercolour and oil. She joined the Colombo ’43 Group in 1954 following a joint exhibition with Susila Wijayasuriya and thereafter exhibited regularly with the group.[4]. Her participation is documented in several ’43 Group exhibitions during the 1950s, including exhibitions held in Colombo and Cambridge in 1956, and in later group exhibitions in 1959[1]
She participated in national and international biennales, including the Venice Biennale in 1960. Contemporary documentation associated with the Biennale records her exhibition history, awards and professional affiliations[5]. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, Jayawardene also exhibited independently at venues including the United States Information Service (USIS) Library in Colombo and the Studio Times exhibition space. In 1964, she was included in an exhibition of young painters at the German Cultural Institute in Colombo, organized by the German painter Bruno Gronen.
Alongside her exhibiting practice, Jayawardene was active in professional arts administration and was a member of the National Committee of Plastic Artists, Ceylon.
From 1949 to 1968, she served as Art Teacher at Bishop’s College, Colombo, where she organized numerous art exhibitions for students and contributed to the development of visual arts education within the school.
Art historical writing on Jayawardene has emphasized drawing as a central and continuous element of her practice. Her early work focused on figurative subjects and portraiture, with a strong emphasis on line, structure and colour relationships that continued to inform her later work across different media.
Textile and Batik work
From the late 1950s onwards, Jayawardene developed an extensive textile practice, working primarily with batik, tie-and-dye and mixed media. Rather than treating textiles as a decorative or applied art, later scholarship has described her textile work as an extension of her modernist concerns as a painter, translating line, rhythm and colour into fabric.
Her textile designs were widely exhibited in Sri Lanka and abroad and featured regularly in fashion and design coverage from the 1960s onwards.[6]. In 1969, she presented textile and fashion exhibitions in Birmingham and London, contributing to the international visibility of Sri Lankan batik during this period[2]
Her work has been associated with the growing recognition of batik as an art form rather than a purely craft-based practice, particularly within the context of modern Sri Lankan visual culture.
Jayawardene continued to work across painting and textiles throughout her career, with later exhibitions bringing together works on paper, canvas and fabric to demonstrate the continuity of her practice across media.
Exhibitions and recognition
Jayawardene’s work was shown in group and solo contexts in Sri Lanka and internationally from the late 1940s onwards. A retrospective exhibition of her paintings and textiles, Art of Swanee Jayawardene, was held at the National Art Gallery, Colombo, in 2012.[1]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Swanee Jayawardene (1930- 2010) – Taprobane Collection". art.taprobanecollection.com. Archived from the original on 2025-10-05. Retrieved 2026-01-29.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "The Immeasurable Talent of Swanee Jayawardene - The Weekend Online | Daily Mirror". www.dailymirror.lk. Retrieved 2026-01-29.
- ↑ ARTRA (2025-11-21). "Women and Modernism Edition - Into the Life of Swanee Jayawardene". ARTRA. Retrieved 2026-01-29.
- ↑ Lankaloka, Dinuka (2020-05-08). "Colombo '43 Group • Ceylon Guide". Ceylon Guide. Retrieved 2026-01-29.
- ↑ https://asac.labiennale.org/attivita/arti-visive/329088. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ http://124.43.74.75:8080/atom_times/index.php/326-IM-3132-0006-3225176. Missing or empty
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