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, known today as one of Sri Lanka’s foremost contemporary artists.

Segar, as he prefers to be called, is having a solo exhibition in Bengaluru, his first in the city. Titled Melody of Hues, the artist who is having a show in India after more than a decade, says a chance to exhibit in this city never fell in place before this.

Melody of Hues will showcase works of art Segar has created over the past three years. Recognised for his portrayal of rural Sri Lanka and pastoral scenes, the artist has a distinct style he prefers to call “refractive”, with elements 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, adding that he was fascinated by how neither Vincent van Gogh’s poverty nor Pablo Picasso’s fortunes stood in the way of their creativity.

Raja Segar
| Photo Credit:
Special Arrangement

After his studies, Segar began working in an accountancy firm and around that time time began designing greeting cards, which he sent to family and friends. “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 1980s, Segar began creating serigraphs (a process of making high quality art prints) and then switched to printing, to keep up with the demand for his greeting cards. He says, in 1984, when a buyer asked him to recreate his card as a painting, “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 painting and I still remember it was of shepherds returning home in the evening.”

From there, Segar has gone places, with solos shows and exhibitions the world over as well as having some of his works belong in the permanent collection at the National Gallery of Victoria, in Melbourne. He remembers with fondness how his morale and works got a boost when famed Sri Lankan artist Senaka Senanayake exhibited his works along with those of three others at an art gallery in The Hilton, Colombo, for a decade. One of his paintings was used to grace the back cover of Reader’s Digest magazine in Hong Kong, helping him garner a global audience.

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 apparent fame, Segar is approachable with sense of humour that puts one at ease. Talking about his preferred medium, he says he uses 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 60th solo show and he says his inspiration remains domestic scenes from Sri Lanka, “of shop keepers and tea pluckers,” executed in his trademark style. The exhibition was curated by Namita Swamy, founder-director of Tapobhumi Oko Centre for the Arts in Bengaluru.

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