Gallery Silver Scpaes
Trinity of Being
Trinity of Being
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Artist: SHANAKA KULATHUNGA
Trinity of Being, 2026
Medium: Oil on Canvas
Size: 64 × 48 in (162.56 × 121.92 cm)
Shanaka Kulathunga uses theatrical joker-like figures in this compelling work to explore the hidden layers and emotional complexities of human personality. The crowded composition becomes a symbolic stage where multiple identities, emotions, and psychological masks coexist, reflecting the roles individuals perform throughout their lives. Through exaggerated expressions, dramatic gestures, and layered figures, the artist reveals the fragile boundary between outward appearance and inner truth, creating a visual narrative that is both unsettling and deeply introspective.
The painting suggests that human beings continuously shift between different versions of themselves depending on circumstance and social expectation. One mask is presented to the world, another reserved for intimate relationships, while a third remains concealed within the private depths of the self. Kulathunga transforms these invisible emotional disguises into vivid theatrical imagery, allowing the figures to embody performance, secrecy, vulnerability, and emotional conflict simultaneously. The sinister grin of the central character intensifies this psychological tension, hinting at suppressed emotion, hidden anxiety, or the uneasy coexistence of joy and despair beneath the surface of human interaction.
Kulathunga’s expressive painterly style enhances the emotional impact of the work through rich textures, fragmented forms, and dramatic contrasts of colour and light. The composition feels alive with movement and emotional noise, yet beneath the visual intensity lies a profound meditation on identity and human behavior. The joker-like figures may also symbolize society itself — playful, chaotic, performative, and often emotionally guarded.
Through this haunting and theatrical composition, Shanaka Kulathunga examines the complexities of selfhood in contemporary life. His ability to merge symbolism, expressionism, and psychological storytelling transforms the painting into a poetic reflection on the masks people wear to survive, belong, and conceal their deepest emotional realities.
Why Choose Us
Art has always, naturally, reflected the development and exploration of different thoughts and perceptions, and our current postmodern era is no different. It is interesting to see how art has evolved visually, yet the traditional methods of composing art remain a valid means of expression.
All it takes for an artist to rise above normalcy, is inspiration, which fuels his passion to paint beautiful creations throughout his life.
The valuable expression of art is always there with us, but now this expression is yet to take an interesting diversion with our art gallery, Gallery Silver Scapes, located in Hauz Khas Enclave. Art is no longer considered just decorative but has evolved and come forth as a major form of investment yielding high rates of returns for its buyers, making it an expression commonly used.
Mrs Mayor was walked into the art world by the legendary modernist Bimal Das Gupta, one of whose biggest collections remains with Gallery Silver Scapes. In the 1980s, as head and first curator of the Habiart Gallery founded by Mrs Rekha Modi — a childhood friend — Mrs Mayor worked closely with and curated shows for renowned artists such as A Ramachandran, GR Santosh, Rameshwar Broota, Sakti Burman, MK Bardhan, Dhiraj Chaudhury, M Sivanesan, and Arup Das among others.
Besides modern masters, she also worked with young contemporaries such as Sudip Roy, Paresh Maity, Subroto Kundu, Vinod Sharma, and many more. Artworks commissioned by her are now part of prestigious collections, such as those of the India Habitat Centre, Ranbaxy, Pepsi, Hotel Lalit, Bank of America, and many more private and public collections.