Sri Lankan artist Raja Segar to exhibit in Bengaluru for first time

“I never thought I would be an artist; at school, I was good in Chemistry and Math was my favourite subject,” says Raja Segar, recognized at present as considered one of Sri Lanka’s foremost modern artists.

Segar, as he prefers to be known as, is having a solo exhibition in Bengaluru, his first in town. Titled Melody of Hues, the artist who’s having a present in India after greater than a decade, says an opportunity to exhibit in this metropolis by no means fell in place earlier than this.

Melody of Hues will showcase artistic endeavors Segar has created over the previous three years. Recognised for his portrayal of rural Sri Lanka and pastoral scenes, the artist has a definite fashion he prefers to name “refractive”, with parts of cubism and abstractionism. “You see, in school I enjoyed Physics and Geometry too,” he says.

“As a student, I would spend a lot of time at the British Council library in Colombo browsing through art magazines and periodicals. I enjoyed reading about the lives of artists,” says Segar, including that he was fascinated by how neither Vincent van Gogh’s poverty nor Pablo Picasso’s fortunes stood in the way in which of their creativity.

Raja Segar
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

After his research, Segar started working in an accountancy agency and round that time time started designing greeting playing cards, which he despatched to household and buddies. “At the time, most cards depicted Western themes; mine were about life in Sri Lanka. They became a huge hit and when a friend introduced my work to be stocked at a bookshop their popularity increased.”

By the early Nineteen Eighties, Segar started creating serigraphs (a course of of constructing top quality artwork prints) after which switched to printing, to sustain with the demand for his greeting playing cards. He says, in 1984, when a purchaser requested him to recreate his card as a portray, “I told him I was not an artist, that I only made cards, but he insisted I create a painting as “a big card”. That was my first portray and I nonetheless keep in mind it was of shepherds returning house in the night.”

From there, Segar has gone locations, with solos reveals and exhibitions the world over in addition to having a few of his works belong in the everlasting assortment on the National Gallery of Victoria, in Melbourne. He remembers with fondness how his morale and works received a lift when famed Sri Lankan artist Senaka Senanayake exhibited his works together with these of three others at an artwork gallery in The Hilton, Colombo, for a decade. One of his work was used to grace the again cowl of Reader’s Digest journal in Hong Kong, serving to him garner a world viewers.

Art by Raja Segar
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

“There was a time when I would be too awed to walk into an art gallery; today, I receive red carpet reception at those places. It never ceases to surprise me.” Despite his obvious fame, Segar is approachable with sense of humour that places one relaxed. Talking about his most popular medium, he says he makes use of oils on canvas since, “they are easier to execute corrections on. Also, one can roll them up and transport them easily.”

Melody of Hues is Segar’s sixtieth solo present and he says his inspiration stays home scenes from Sri Lanka, “of shop keepers and tea pluckers,” executed in his trademark fashion. The exhibition was curated by Namita Swamy, founder-director of Tapobhumi Oko Centre for the Arts in Bengaluru.

Melody of Hues, a solo present by artist Raja Segar can be on show at Bangalore International Centre from September 26 to 28. Entry free.