Ivan Peries was a Sri Lankan artist born in Dehiwala. He received his early training under David Paynter and Harry Pieris. Alongside a group of likeminded Sri Lankan artists, including Justin Daraniyagala, George Keyt, and Lionel Wendt, he established the '43 Group' in Colombo in 1943. The group aimed to create a synthesised, and previously unseen, brand of Sri Lankan modernism by absorbing European artistic practices within the fabric of traditional Ceylonese painting. Peries left Sri Lanka for England in 1946 and returned to settle permanently in the United Kingdom in 1953. His collective body of work can be viewed as a protracted and nuanced meditation upon Ceylonese life and history. Peries' work is celebrated for its monastic austerity...