‘Art with a Heart’ is an exhibition at the Lionel Wendt in aid of the Sri Lanka Cancer Society by contemporary artists Suganya Johnpillai and Teruni Wikramanayake. The exhibition is being held on 11th -12th  March and all proceeds will be donated to the Sri Lanka Cancer Society.

Suganya Johnpillai who is contributing her works which consist of powerful charcoal lines says that although she has been interested in painting since childhood, it is under the guidance of Prof. Sarath Chandrajeewa that she found her artistic voice. “One day I sketched a baby elephant and realised my liking for charcoal in Prof. Chandrajeewa’s class. The texture, the shading and the intense black colour gave me the freedom to sketch freely. My love for animals and how to express that love with spontaneous lines gave my work form and character".

Her most recent works have focused on wildlife and have been done exclusively with charcoal and on occasion a touch of slight colour with acrylic paint on different types of paper. She says elephants and eagles are powerful in their own way and she has a special affinity for them in her artworks. The gentle and expressive character of the elephant and the power and physical prowess that the eagle exuberates as a bird of prey have inspired and influenced her immensely.

Suganya says that she is extremely happy to be able to contribute to a worthy cause for the first time that she is exhibiting her work. She feels that she is fortunate to have had the opportunity to display her paintings knowing that the sale proceeds would be used to save another person’s life.

Teruni is a contemporary abstract artist who has exhibited many times.
At a young age she attended Cora Abraham’s school of art and her first teacher, Mrs Latifa Ismail, a very gentle and kind lady encouraged her to express her creativity freely.  In addition, she used to frequently visit her late grand uncle Harry Pieris, who was an artist, whose house was adorned with many modern paintings which also influenced her interest and style in art.

However, it was under the guidance of Prof. Sarath Chandrajeewa that she was able to hone her creative talent and grow as an artist. She was able to discover her style of abstract painting at his classes and her style evolved naturally.

She prefers to use acrylic paints because it is water soluble, dries fast and are practical. She says she almost never has an idea in mind when she starts a painting and therefore works with her subconscious mind and can happily say that ‘ I am my own style’.

In 2017 one of her paintings was selected and published in the Luciano Benetton Collection of Contemporary Artists from Sri Lanka and the work is on permanent display as part of the collection in Treviso, Italy.