Mueen Saheed and Raja Segar present ‘Refractions’ today

Friday, 18 August 2023 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

D. Raja Segar

A fusion of abstract expressionism and refractive art for a one-of-a-kind art exhibition at the Lionel Wendt Art Gallery today

Mueen Saheed, an international award winning jewellery designer turned artist, together with D. Raja Segar, a renowned artist and sculptor, will present an exhibition of a collection of art works in Colombo.

Titled ‘Refractions’, the exhibition is to be held under the patronage of Dilmah Tea Chairman Dilhan Fernando on Friday, 18 August from 5 p.m. onwards. Kalabushana Mueen Saheed will present a unique and never before seen collection that has to do with climate change and environment. His paintings will be aimed at showing the net zero emission and individual responsibilities towards Mother Nature.

Meanwhile D. Raja Segar, will present a collection of art forms of figure paintings of religious figures. D. Raja Segar is also known for his artworks which he calls ‘refractive’ for its depiction of a style that is both prismatic and vibrant. This is the first time that both artists will be coming together for an art exhibition in Colombo. Both artists have exhibited prominently and frequently in many parts of the world. They will be accompanied by artists Bilaal Raji Saheed, Spinndonna and Jihye Lee.

Bilaal, who is an architect and designer, is Mueen’s son, a graduate of the Royal College of Art in London. He presented his first solo exhibition in October last year, where he also launched Sri Lanka’s first solo NFT collection with Lankan Web 3 startup Hyperglade, which has since gained interest and investment from Silicon Valley Venture Capitalist Tim Draper. Spindonna has been painting with her father Segar since she was a child, beginning with finger paintings, and has since had her maiden exhibition in Lionel Wendt in September 2017. Her sister-in-law Jihye Lee is employed by Gongju art museum in South Korea, a colourist turned watercolour artist whose paintings are bought by several art collectors.

Mueen has exhibited extensively at group and solo exhibitions in Delhi, Colombo, The Maldives, Oxford, Florence, Paris, and Bordeaux, and his works are in prominent collections globally. Mueen’s art is influenced by a number of factors, including his Sri Lankan heritage, a past life in crafting jewellery, history, mysticism, rhythm and personal philosophies of his portrait subjects. He is the recipient of many awards and recognition for his work in the arts, including the JA Jewel Award (New York 1996), The Golden Apple Award for Innovation (New York, 2001) and most recently an Award for Innovative Entrepreneurship from the Chamber of Commerce, Colombo.

Raja Segar is an accountant turned artist. He is experimenting the refractive effect of light in his abstract and figurative paintings. He loves to work in watercolour, 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. Almost all of his paintings have been bought by art lovers all over the world and adorned in newspapers, documentaries and periodicals including Reader’s Digest.