Pala Pothupitiye

Pala Pothupitiye, born in 1972 in southern Sri Lanka, is an internationally recognized contemporary visual artist whose interdisciplinary practice explores the intersections of tradition, identity, politics, and power. A graduate of the University of Visual and Performing Arts in Colombo, his academic training is rooted in formal fine art, while his creative lineage emerges from a familial background of traditional craft-artists and ritual specialists native to southern Sri Lanka.

Pothupitiye’s work is known for its bold reconfigurations of inherited cultural forms, including traditional motifs, symbols, and techniques. He challenges the hierarchical separation between art and craft, the marginalization of caste-based practices, and the colonial and Eurocentric frameworks that continue to shape art historical narratives. His art is politically charged, conceptually layered, and often materially experimental, extending across painting, sculpture, installation, and mixed-media. Among his most critically acclaimed series are his map-works, in which he manipulates cartography to question historical authority, nationhood, and territoriality.

Over the past two decades, Pothupitiye’s work has been exhibited widely across Asia and beyond. His debut came in 2002 with the group exhibition Made in IAS at Gallery 706 at Barefoot, Colombo. His international breakthrough followed with his selection for the prestigious Third Fukuoka Asian Art Triennale at the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Japan, in 2005. He later represented Sri Lanka at the Singapore Art Biennale (2016) and the Karachi Biennale (2017). In 2010, he was awarded the First Prize Jury Award at the Sovereign Asian Art Prize in Hong Kong — one of Asia’s most respected recognitions for contemporary visual artists.

Pothupitiye is not only a practitioner but also a visionary contributor to Sri Lanka’s contemporary art infrastructure. He is a co-founder and current director of the Theertha International Artists Collective, established as a platform for independent, experimental, and politically engaged art-making in post-war Sri Lanka.

Through Theertha, he has been instrumental in creating alternative spaces for dialogue, mentoring, and exhibitions for emerging artists.

In addition, he co-founded the Mullegama Art Center (Now it presents as Mullegama Art Community), an integrated space where he lives and works. The center functions as a studio, artist residency, and community learning hub, providing educational programs for schoolchildren, university students, and early-career artists. Through workshops,

residencies, and exhibitions, it fosters a holistic and inclusive model of artistic engagement and knowledge-sharing.

Most recently, in February 2025, Pothupitiye launched Millennium Art Contemporary (MiAC) in Millennium City, Athurugiriya, Sri Lanka. MiAC is envisioned as a contemporary art space that expands his mission to bridge local and global art discourses. It serves as a platform for exhibitions, curatorial experimentation, interdisciplinary collaboration, and public engagement.

With MiAC, Pothupitiye aims to elevate the visibility of Sri Lankan contemporary art while nurturing critical thinking and innovative practices.

Through his work as an artist, mentor, educator, and institution-builder, Pala Pothupitiye continues to shape the contemporary cultural landscape of Sri Lanka and the broader South Asian region. His practice remains grounded in a deep commitment to cultural introspection, social critique, and the transformative power of art.