Today’s guest is Radna Segal a painter born in an ethnically diverse area of Southern Russia called Kalmykia, where she was influenced by both Asian and European cultures. Her textural, three-dimensional paintings feature dynamic composition and various experimental materials like plaster, foil, paint, glitter, and beads which create organic movement inspired by nature. Within her pieces, Segal uses an ancient, rare, and ornate Mongolian writing called “clear script,” that very few in the world know how to create.
Segal moved to Boulder and opened an art gallery on Pearl Street called “Refuge”. She brought to Boulder solo shows from 5 female artists with various cultural backgrounds such as Brazil, England, India, Russia, Mexico and South Africa. After the gallery’s closure she focused on her own art journey. In 2021 she had a show in Madrid, Spain and in December this year she will be having a solo show in Garzon, Uruguay, where she will bring a new collection of works telling a dark history of her nation exiled to Siberia during Stalin regime.
KGNU’s Rossana Longo Better speaks with Segal about her artwork: an abstract representation of many things from her past and present: the beauty of the Caucasus Mountains of her childhood and her current home in the Rockies, the dark history of the Kalmyk people exiled for 13 years during the Stalin Regime and her experience of being an immigrant.
“I believe in the resilience of humanity. I hope my work opens your heart and inspires you to keep moving forward” says Segal.
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Our new monthly show, Storytellers of Color, airs on the second Monday of each month as part of A Public Affair on KGNU. The major goal of the show is to provide a safe space for communicators of color, through a series of conversations, to elevate their voices and discuss issues of equality in the media. The show is inspired by recent gatherings of various working groups, including Latinx Voices, organized by Diamond Hardiman from Free Press’ News Voices Colorado Project, and Journos of Color Network led by Tina Griego, reporter, editor, and coach from Colorado News Collaborative.
The Storytellers of Color series is a collaborative effort, with an open invitation to other storytellers to come into our airwaves, to tell their stories, and to occupy the safe space we are providing every second Monday of the month.
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