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Anjolie Ela Menon

arts Maturity 7-9 Next article →

Anjolie Ela Menon is a leading contemporary artist from India. Her work is very important to the world of art. Many famous museums hold her paintings today. These include the NGMA and the Chandigarh Museum. The Peabody Essex Museum also has her art. In 2006, the Asian Art Museum of San Francisco bought her triptych work called "Yatra."

This artist creates many different kinds of beautiful things. She is a well-known muralist who paints on walls. Her art brings joy and meaning to many people.

Menon has a special way of working with her paints. Her favorite method is using oil on masonite. Masonite is a hard board used for painting. She applies many thin washes of translucent colors. This makes the colors look clear and soft.

She also uses other tools to make her art. She has worked with Murano glass and computer graphics. Sometimes she uses water colors to create her images. Her styles can change from cubism to older European styles. She even made Buddhist abstracts in 1997.

Her journey as an artist began a long time ago. She was born on 17 July 1940, in Burnpur, India. Her family has roots in both Bengal and America. Anjolie was a very talented student at a young age. She sold her first paintings by the age of 15.

At age 18, she held a big solo show. This show featured fifty-three paintings in many styles. She later went to Paris to study art. From 1959 to 1961, she studied at the École des Beaux-Arts.

Anjolie has traveled the world to learn and show her art. She studied art styles from Rome and the Byzantine Empire. She represented India at big art events called Biennales. These took place in Paris, Algiers, and São Paulo.

She has held over 35 solo shows around the globe. Some of these shows were in London and Washington D.C. In 2000, she received the Padma Shri award. This is a very prestigious honor from the Indian government. She was also the only visual artist nominated to the IGNCA board.

Today, Anjolie lives and works in New Delhi. She has a big family with two sons and four grandchildren. She is married to Raja Menon, who is a writer.

Anjolie also loves to collect art from other famous creators. She collects works by artists like Jamini Roy and F.N. Souza. Her life is a great example of a life filled with creativity. Her stories have even been shared on CNN and Doordarshan. She continues to be a major part of India's art history.

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