Anjum Singh

Anjum Singh (1967 – 17 November 2020) was an Indian artist whose works focused on urban ecology, environmental degradation, and her own struggles with cancer.[1][2][3] She was born in New Delhi, India, and she continued to live and work there.[4] Singh was the daughter of noted Indian artists Arpita Singh and Paramjit Singh.

Anjum Singh
Singh in 2019
Born1967
New Delhi, India
Died17 November 2020 (aged 53)
New Delhi, India
NationalityIndian
EducationBachelor of fine arts (Shantiniketan) (1989)
Master of fine arts (Delhi University) (1991)
Known forVisual arts
Parents

Early life

Singh was born to artists Arpita Singh and Paramjit Singh in New Delhi in 1967.[4] She graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Kala Bhavana in Shantiniketan, and was influenced by the Hungarian-Indian painter Amrita Sher-Gil. She received her Master of Fine Arts from the College of Art at the Delhi University in 1991. She went on to study painting and print-making at the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design in Washington, D.C., between 1992 and 1994.[2][5]

Career

Singh noted the Hungarian-Indian artist Amrita Sher-Gil as amongst her first artistic influences with her early works focusing on figurative motifs.[5] Her works later evolved to showcasing urban ecology and environmental degradation. They were exhibited both in solo shows across India, Singapore, and the US, with her group exhibitions being showcased in Melbourne, Cairo and London, in addition to other cities in India.[2] In a review of her first individual showing in New York in 2002, The New York Times mentioned, "With their lucid forms and appetizing colors, the six paintings in Anjum Singh's New York solo debut make an instantly welcoming first impression, though they tend to keep their meanings in reserve."[6]

Her last exhibition, held in September 2019 at Talwar Gallery in New Delhi and titled I am still here, was autobiographical with her depiction of her own body and her struggles with cancer.[7] The paintings used oil on mixed media. In a review titled "Agony and Ecstasy of Anjum Singh", The Hindu mentioned, "It is one of the most well-hung exhibitions of the season, presenting dramatic views of individual paintings and compelling groupings of works on paper."[6][3] It is noted that her intimate and sensitive autobiographical depictions stemmed from her own illness and fight against cancer.[7]

Some of her famous works included Bleed Bled Blood Red (2015), Heart (Machine) (2016), and Blackness (2016).[7][8]

She was a recipient of the Charles Wallace Trust Fellowship for a residency at Gasworks Studios, London, in 2002–03 and had earlier also won an award at the Sahitya Kala Parishad's Yuva Mahotsava in 1991.[2]

Singh died on 17 November 2020 in New Delhi, after a long battle with cancer, aged 53.[2][9]

Exhibitions

Source:[10]

Solo exhibitions

Group exhibitions

Source:[10]

  • 1994: Asian American Art Center, Betrayal / Empowerment, New York, NY, US
  • 1996: 6th Bharat Bhawan Biennale, Bhopal, India
  • 1997: National Gallery of Modern Art (NGMA), Colors of Independence, New Delhi, India
  • 1997: SAHMAT, Gift of India, New Delhi, India
  • 1998: The Next Wave, Melbourne, Australia
  • 1998: 7th International Cairo Biennale, Cairo, Egypt
  • 1999: Pernegg & Salzburg, The Search Within, Austria, New Delhi & Mumbai, India
  • 1999: Art Ink, Edge of the Century, New Delhi, India
  • 2000: Lakeeren Gallery, Anonymously Yours, Mumbai, India
  • 2000: Sakshi Gallery, Embarkations, Mumbai, India
  • 2000: Jehangir Art Gallery, A Global View: Indian Artists at Home and the World, Mumbai, India
  • 2001: Khoj International Artists Workshop, Modinagar, India
  • 2002: Art Inc., Transfigurations, New Delhi, India
  • 2003: Gallery Chemould, 20×20, Mumbai, India
  • 2005: Bodhi Art, Towards Abstraction, New Delhi, India
  • 2005: Vadehra Art Gallery, Are we like this only?, New Delhi, India
  • 2005: Talwar Gallery, (Desi)re, New York, NY, US
  • 2007: Grosvenor Vadehra Gallery, Here and Now, London, UK
  • 2011: San Jose Museum, Roots in the Air and Branches Below, San Jose, CA, US
  • 2011: Prince of Wales Museum, Fabular Bodies, Mumbai, India

References
  1. "Anjum Singh". Saffron Art. Archived from the original on 16 May 2017. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  2. "Artist Anjum Singh, known for her depictions of urban ecology, passes away at 53". First Post. Archived from the original on 17 November 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  3. Datta, Ella. "The agony and ecstasy of Anjum Singh". @businessline. Archived from the original on 25 November 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  4. "Anjum Singh". Palette Art Gallery. Archived from the original on 31 January 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  5. Scroll Staff. "Artist Anjum Singh dies at 53 of cancer, tributes pour in". Scroll.in. Archived from the original on 17 November 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  6. Cotter, Holland (8 November 2002). "ART IN REVIEW; Anjum Singh (Published 2002)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 28 November 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  7. "Anjum Singh (1967–2020): A warrior with a fierce love for life and art". Mintlounge. 17 November 2020. Archived from the original on 18 November 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  8. "Illness as a Metaphor". Open The Magazine. 11 October 2019. Archived from the original on 17 November 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  9. "Artist Anjum Singh passes away at 53 following long battle with cancer". The Indian Express. 17 November 2020. Archived from the original on 17 November 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  10. "Talwar Gallery – Anjum Singh Biography" (PDF). Talwar Gallery. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 September 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2020.
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