Kavan Balasuriya

About:

Kavan Balasuriya (b. 1992, Colombo, Sri Lanka) is an artist working with drawing and engraving. His practice explores light and shadow, surface and depth, and abstraction and realism.

Inspired by emergence within complex systems, he composes geometric and gestural abstractions. His process creates intricate fields of pattern and form, the sum of which is greater than its parts. Kavan works between the tangible and intangible - between what’s felt and what’s known.

The artist uses aluminium foil to examine movement and stillness. Here, he makes connections and contentions that challenge visual perception. He etches and engraves the foil, resulting in optical effects and illusions.

Kavan draws from architecture in using the ‘site’ of foil as a ‘field’ to generate compositions. He traces its folds and textures to form his images.

These actions turn the medium into a pattern generator, where each repetition differs. Kavan uses it to explore the nuance and animateness between space, matter, and the human mind.

Kavan earned a B.A. in Fine Art (2014) and a Foundation Diploma in Art & Design (2010) from Central Saint Martins College of Art & Design, University of the Arts London, United Kingdom.

Exhibitions:

2024 - Pivot, Glide, Echo, Kalā South Asia, Lionel Wendt Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka

2022 - Lightlines [Solo], Saskia Fernando Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka

2022 - Galvanise, Spitalfields Studios, London, United Kingdom

2019 - A Clueless Pedestrian Presents: Zebra Crossing, Green Lens Studios, London, United Kingdom

2019 - Be The Break, J.D.A. Perera Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka

2019 - Emergency, Paradise Road Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka

2019 - Contextures, dual showcase with Sam van Strien, A-side B-side Gallery, London, United Kingdom

2018 - Young Subcontinent: Sightlines, Serendipity Arts Festival, Goa, India

2018 - Sub_Sequence AV Lab, BorderMovement, Rio Hotel & Cinema, Colombo, Sri Lanka

2018 - Palimpsest, Colombo Fashion Week: Art Connect, Australia Building, Colombo, Sri Lanka

2018 - Art Trails [Solo], Fairway Galle Literary Festival 2018, Galle, Sri Lanka

2017 - Exhibition [Solo], Black Cat Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka

2016 - Conceiving Space, collaboration with Asvajit Boyle, Colombo Art Biennale, Colombo, Sri Lanka

2016 - Wings: A Festival of Arts, J.D.A. Perera Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka

2016 - Testing Grounds: Art and Digital Cultures in South Asia and Europe, Cinnamon Colomboscope, Former General Post Office, Colombo, Sri Lanka

2016 - Manifest, Dual showcase with Branka Ridicki, Barefoot Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka

2016 - Colombo Fashion Week: Frame [Second Edition], Dual showcase with P413, Colombo Fashion Week, Land Rover Showroom, Colombo, Sri Lanka

2015 - Slap 2, Conartist NYC Gallery, New York, USA

2015 - Exhibition Two [Solo], Ruby Studio Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka

2015 - Shadow Scenes, Cinnamon Colomboscope, Rio Hotel complex, Colombo, Sri Lanka

2015 - Slap: Adhesives & Egos, Hot Butter Collective & Conartist NYC, Ruby Studio Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka

2015 - In Space: An Immersive Exhibition, Hot Butter Collective, Barefoot Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka

2015 - Exhibition One [Solo], Ruby Studio Gallery, Colombo, Sri Lanka

2014 - Degree Show One, Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design, London, UK

2014 - Psychoelectric: Live at 72. London, UK

2013 - Bring Your Own Beamer [B.Y.O.B], Collaboration with Victor Fischl, Oxford House Chapel, London, UK

2013 - Soundwaves Across the Seas, Byam Shaw School of Art, London, UK & Dublin, Ireland

Publications:

2016 - Sri Lanka: Re-Imagining Ceylon: Contemporary Artists from Sri Lanka, Imago Mundi Collection