birth_place nationality birth_date article_title name
moratuwa , sri lanka sri lankan 1954 jagath weerasinghe
 jagath weerasinghe
jagath weerasinghe

jagath weerasinghe -lrb- 1954 -rrb- is a renowned sri lankan contemporary artist and archeologist .
weerasinghe has been a significant driving force in the development of sri lankan art since the early 1990s and is presently director of the postgraduate institute of archaeology at the university of kelaniya .
he obtained a bachelor of fine arts with honours in painting at the institute of aesthetic studies , university of kelaniya , sri lanka in 1981 .
in 1985 he received a conservation of wall paintings , international centre for the study of the preservation and restoration of cultural property -lrb- iccrom -rrb- in rome , which was followed in 1988 by a conservation of rock art from the getty conservation institute in los angeles .
in 1991 weerasinghe obtained a master of fine arts in painting at the american university , washington dc .
weerasinghe coined the phrase ` 90s art trend ' , recognising at the time the need for a cohesive framework to describe the activity of his peer group .
he was commissioned by the sri lankan government to design the monument ` shrine for the innocent ' as a remembrance for the innocent victims of the ruthless violence that the southern part of the country experienced in the late 1980s and early 1990s with the work completed in 1999 .
he co-founded the theertha international artists collective in 2000 , which continues to foster new artists and initiatives .
he describes current sri lankan artists as living in an era of ` para-modernism ' .
weerasinghe 's works have been exhibited in the united states , united kingdom , australia , india , netherlands , germany and japan .
