Segar (artist)

Raja Segar

Segar in 2013
Born (1951-12-04) 4 December 1951
Colombo, Sri Lanka
Residence Horton Place, Colombo and Ja-Ela Estate,Ja-Ela, Sri Lanka (latitude 6.927/longitude 79.86)
Occupation Artist, Sculptor,and speaks English, German, Sinhalese,and Tamil
Years active 1979–present
Style Refractive effect in paintings
Spouse(s) Wijeyashanthinie(1966-1996)
Children Spinndonna (born 1992)
Donnavann (born 1994)
Segar signature in black paint
Minnette model for artist segar house
Common Partner

D.RajaSegar(born 1951) known as Segar, is a Sri Lankan artist and sculptor. A self tutored artist born on 4th Dec 1951 to poor parents in the suburb of Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka. He use to walk to school which was 5 km away from home to save bus fare so that he could eat something during the interval. After schooling at St Michael's College, Polwatte, Colombo-3 at the age of 19, he started working in a soft drinks manufacturing company in the field of accountancy. While studying for his accountancy examinations he spent most of his time in the reference sections of the British Council library in Colombo. There he was able to browse through a collection of books and periodicals on art and artists.In his news paper interviews he always states; British Council was my university of fine art.Monotonous work in the accountancy department started to bore him. Segar started to design his own greeting cards purely based on the day to day lifestyle of Sri Lankans.

Black tea pluckers, oil on canvas 2007. Segar started to paint the tea pluckers in dark colors since his encounter with the real tea pluckers in Dickoya, Hatton the upcountry of Sri Lanka
Women with pots- oil 2011. In his Singapore exhibition this painting was titled as 'In search of water'
Segar's Lord Buddha.jpg water color 1987
The Family, oil on canvas by Raja Segar
The Dance 40x30 inch oil on canvas 2012 by Raja Segar

His cards became an instant hit as most of the greeting cards in Sri Lanka were copied from the paintings of western countries. The art lovers who saw his cards wanted him to make large paintings. Hence, comfortably he became a painter. To give his art a serious impact Segar started experimenting the refractive effect of light in his abstract and figurative cubism. He loves to work in watercolor, oil and mixed media. In sculpture he works in steel. He has had one man exhibitions in Australia, England, India and Sri Lanka in addition to group exhibitions.Though his paintings on gods and religions were adorned by the art lovers, he remains an atheist. His art adorned in news papers, documentaries and periodicals including Reader's Digest.[1] In 1988 he attempted suicide as a result of failed love affair but changed the idea as he thought of more than 20 of his unsigned paintings. In 1996 Segar had his 19th solo exhibition in Colombo and donated the sales proceed of more than US$5000 to the Neurosurgery Trust Fund of the National Hospital of Sri Lanka, in the year which his wife Vejeyashanthinie 29 years, died of brain stem cancer. The Housing Scheme 1977 and The Buddha 1987 are the two famous paintings in his prolific career. He lives in a house architectured by Minnette De Silva. This house conceived from Segar's imagination when he was 12 years old.

Segar with Anjolie Ela Menon in New Delhi2003
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birthday greetings to Spinndonna by Segar- from a page from artist 's diary 2007
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birthday greetings by Raja Segar
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line drawing of a Bullock Car 15x22 cm 2011 by Segar
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line drawing of a Bullock Car 15x22 cm 2011 by Segar
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Lovers- watercolor 22x22 cm 2007 by Segar
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Lovers- watercolor 22x22 cm 2007 by Segar
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Tsunami survivors 60x60 cm watercolor by Segar
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Tsunami survivors 60x60 cm watercolor by Segar

Exhibitions

Major international exhibitions

One man exhibitions in Sri Lanka

Geometry and Physics in Segar's work

During his school days he excelled in science subjects specially mathematics and physics. His early works dominated by triangles squares and cubes and avoided curves much as possible refer the Big Ben painting on Bonjour French magazine. Travelling of light in different density and its refraction influenced him a lot. He did not hesitate to apply this in many of large canvases which resulted in figurative cubism and refractive effect in his paintings.

References on Raja Segar's art

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Concentration camp by Segar
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Concentration Camp- 14x24 inch, mixed media collage,1976. Featured in the Commemorative publication on art- 50th independence of Sri Lanka. Some journalists commented that the artist was depicting the Tamil terrorists of the northern Sri Lanka was imprisoned in a prison in the southern part of Sri Lanka. But Segar denied. The peeled out Rambutan fruits used to symbolize the penis of the prisoners in this collage art.
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Excavation of Ganesh statute
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Excavation of Ganesha statute 16x24 inch mixed media on card board-1997. This painting was not originated from a excavation site but in the site of sculptors working near Mamallapuram Temple in the southern part of Chennai of Tamil Nadu state in India. This happened during the artists visit to India in 1996.
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The Housing Scheme of Maligawatta 19x24 inch watercolor 1979 by Segar
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Housing Scheme or Maligawatte Flats, mixed media,18x24 inch, 1979. The first serious painting by segar.Other than the brushes his fingers played a primary part in this work. This painting demonstrates his anger and frustration as his house was confiscated by the government.His family was given accommodation in an apartment of 384 square feet in Maligawatte flats in Colombo 10 during 1979
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lonely lady 13x13 cm 1982 watercolor on paper- very early work by Raja Segar
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Lonely lady by Raja Segar
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Bonjour Mag cover by Segar
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June 1995 Bonjour Mag cover 58x40 cm by Segar
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Women selling Fish in Colombo Fish Market 100x130 cm oil on canvas 2011
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Selling Fish oil on canvas . This was created during his three months stay in India. Segar used to watch the women fish sellers coming before dawn to Church Gate Railway Station,Mumbai.
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Two horses and a women
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Two horses and a women This was drawn on a watercolor paper 70x47cm. (2010)

Gods by an Atheist

Segar was born to Hindu parents in Colombo Sri Lanka. His parents became Christians of catholic denomination after 3 years of their marriage, for the simple reason of getting Christian Schools for their Children. This was rather a common practice in Sri Lanka. Segar had to go to Sunday school in Anthony's Church Kollupitiya, in addition to going to church every Sundays. Until he was 13 he never missed a Sunday mass as he was told by the church that he would go to hell if he stop going to church and heaven is only possible only if he believes Jesus Christ as his only god. Segar noticed that hardly anyone read the Bible in his environment, may be reading the Bible was restricted among Catholics. Curious Segar started to read the Bible secretly. He read it again and he stopped going to Church ever since. When the congregation asked him he answered; It takes more than 8 minutes for the sun light to reach earth. Our next sun (star) is more than 4 light years away. Pl show me where the heaven is.Further, I am not interested in going to place where you can not communicate with your loved ones. However Segar was fascinated by the stories in both the religions Hinduism and Christianity. Religions became great art objects for his paintings. Raja Segar's paintings on Gods were greatly admired and several of his paintings on Hindu god Ganesha adorned the shrine rooms of posh Hindus in several countries.

References

  1. ↑ http://www.dailynews.lk/2004/11/10/artscop12.html
  2. ↑ http://www.expatliving.sg/things_todo/whats_on_calendar/art-and-culture/Exhibition-The-Global-Ic
  3. ↑ http://www.saatchionline.com/art/Unknown-The-Fisher.../view
  4. ↑ http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2004/10/17/fea30.html
  5. ↑ https://secure.flickr.com/photos/sri_lankan_art/
  6. ↑ http://www. photos.state.gov/libraries/sri-lanka/5/pdfs/Newsletter-october2008.pdf
  7. ↑ http://www.thesundayleader.lk/.../thirty-sixth-one-man-show-for-raja-segar
  8. ↑ http://www.sundaytimes.lk/.../honest-portrayal-of-both-artist-and-his-work-73
  9. ↑ http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2013/11/24/mon08.asp

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