Senaka Senanayake, Girl with Anthuriums (2003): The Friday Find

25 September - 2 October 2026
  • Senaka Senanayake, Girl with Anthuriums, 2003

    Senaka Senanayake

    Girl with Anthuriums, 2003

    This week we feature a 2003 work by Senaka Senanayake, Girl with Anthuriums. The painting has been in a private Asian collection for more than twenty years and was originally included in Senaka's first exhibition in South Korea, held at the Kyung-in Museum of Fine Art and Gong Gallery in Seoul in 2003.

     

    Senaka was invited to exhibit in Korea by the Buddhist monk, artist and temple-food specialist Jeongsan Kim Yeon-sik. Jeongsan had encountered Senaka's work during a visit to Sri Lanka and, captivated by the landscape and vibrancy of his paintings, invited the artist to Korea.

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  • The Seoul exhibition ran from 30 April to 6 May 2003 across the Kyung-in Museum of Fine Art and Gong Gallery in the Insadong arts district. More than seventy works were exhibited, with the paintings documented in a substantial accompanying catalogue. During his visit, Senaka also gave a lecture at Hongik University College of Fine Arts entitled My Path.

     

    The exhibition began a wider programme of exhibitions in Korea, with Jeongsan ultimately organising presentations of Senaka's work in five cities. This included an exhibition at the Ulsan Hyundai Art Gallery in March 2004.

  • 2023 exhibition in Seoul

  • Twenty years later, in 2023, the two artists were reunited in an exhibition at Gallery Mona Lisa Sanchon in Seoul, celebrating twenty-five years of friendship. The exhibition brought Senaka's paintings from the early 2000s together with Jeongsan's more experimental works.

     

    Girl with Anthuriums, which had remained in the same private collection since the time of the original Korean exhibitions, was shown again as part of this presentation.

     

    We have featured Senaka's work previously in The Friday Find, including Horses and Women with White Bulls, and have exhibited his new paintings in the UK, Middle East and in India. There is something exciting on the horizon for spring 2027 - which we'll tell you about in due course...

  • Fact Sheet

    Fact Sheet

    Senaka Senanayake b. 1951

    Girl with Anthuriums, 2003

    Signed and dated 'Senaka Senanayake 2003' lower right, signed and inscribed on the reverse

    Oil on canvas

    53 x 40.9 cm
    20 7/8 x 16 1/8 in

     

    Provenance

    The Artist;
    Private Collection

     

    Exhibitions

    Seoul, South Korea, Kungin Art Gallery, Senaka Senanayake, 30 April - 6 May, 2003
    Seoul, South Korea, Gallery Mona Lisa San Chon, Senaka Senanayake and Jung-san, 25 Years of Friendship, 25 September - 7 October 2023

     

    Publications

    Senaka Senanayake, Kyungin Art Gallery, published by Misulsegae (월간 미술세계 / Monthly Art World) magazine, Seoul, Korea, 2003 (illustrated in colour, page 62)

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