Grosvenor Gallery is pleased to present The Persistence of Memory, an exhibition of recent paintings by two of Sri Lanka's foremost artists, Chandraguptha Thenuwara and Jagath Weerasinghe. This marks the first time in many years that the two artists are showing together in London.
While Thenuwara's practice interrogates the politics of memory and erasure, Weerasinghe's work offers a frenzied, expressive meditation on tragedy and conflict. Both artists' careers have been profoundly shaped by the island's tumultuous contemporary history, marked by ethnolinguistic conflict and political unrest. The works included in this selection, created between 2021 and 2025, respond to recent events, including the 2022 people's protest movement (Aragalaya) against the Sri Lankan government's economic mismanagement and the subsequent political transition.
Presented in association with Saskia Fernando Gallery, Colombo, the exhibition runs from 9 - 31 October 2025. A special late-night opening will take place during Frieze week on Thursday 16 October, 6-8 pm.