‘Endless Stairs’: a solo exhibition by Kingsley Gunatilake

A solo exhibition by Sri Lankan artist Kingsley Gunatilake, titled Endless Stairs, will open at Bikaner House, CCA Ground Floor, on April 4. Presented by Blueprint12, the show will be on view until April 8, between 11 AM and 7 PM.

The exhibition brings together book art, sculptural installations, and paintings, reflecting the artist’s long engagement with abstraction. Working across mediums, Gunatilake explores layered surfaces where books, pages, and canvases become sites of reflection shaped by memory, loss, and resilience.

A significant part of the exhibition focuses on his book art, where he examines the idea of knowledge—its foundations, acquisition, and destruction. Drawing from Sri Lanka’s history, particularly the loss of libraries, these works transform second-hand books into charged visual objects. Through processes of burning, branding, and intervention, the artist creates a stark commentary on conflict, history, and cultural erasure.

Alongside these are abstract paintings that extend his inquiry into memory and material. Using washi paper and layered paint, Gunatilake builds textured surfaces where colour emerges through darker tones, suggesting fragments of memory and the lingering traces of violence. The works balance intensity with subtle shifts in colour, inviting a contemplative viewing experience.

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The exhibition reflects the continuity in Gunatilake’s practice over decades, where different mediums intersect to form a cohesive yet evolving body of work. Through abstraction and material experimentation, Endless Stairs offers a meditation on history, knowledge, and the fragile nature of memory.

When: April 4 to April 8; 11 AM – 7 PM

Where: CCA, Ground Floor, Bikaner House, New Delhi