Anjum Singh (1967 – 17 November 2020) was an Indian artist whose works focused on urban ecology,

environmental degradation Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, referring respectively to all living and non-living things occurring naturally and the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism ...

, and her own struggles with cancer. She was born in New Delhi, India, and she continued to live and work there. Singh was the daughter of Indian artists

Arpita Singh Arpita Singh (''née'' Dutta; born 22 June 1937) is an Indian artist. Known to be a figurative artist and a modernist, she made her canvases to have both a story line and a carnival of images arranged in a curiously subversive manner. Her artis ...

and Paramjit Singh.

Early life

Singh was born to artists

and Paramjit Singh in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

in 1967. She graduated with a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA). Background ...

from

Kala Bhavana Kala Bhavana (Institute of Fine Arts) is the fine arts faculty of Visva-Bharati University, in Shantiniketan, India. It is an institution of education and research in visual arts, founded in 1919, it was established by Nobel laureate Rabindra ...

Shantiniketan Shantiniketan (IPA: �antiniketɔn is a neighbourhood of Bolpur town in the Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in West Bengal, India, approximately 152 km north of Kolkata. It was established by Maharshi Devendranath Tagore, and ...

. She received her

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admi ...

from the

College of Art An art school is an educational institution with a primary focus on practice and related theory in the visual arts and design. This includes fine art – especially illustration, painting, contemporary art, sculpture, and graphic design. T ...

at the

Delhi University The Delhi University (DU, ISO 15919, ISO: ), also and officially known as the University of Delhi, is a collegiate university, collegiate research university, research Central university (India), central university located in Delhi, India. It ...

in 1991. She went on to study painting and print-making at the

Corcoran School of the Arts and Design The Corcoran School of the Arts and Design (known as the Corcoran School or CSAD) is the professional art school of the George Washington University, in Washington, D.C.Peggy McGloneUniversity names first director of Corcoran School of the Arts a ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, between 1992 and 1994.

Career

Singh noted the Hungarian-Indian artist

Amrita Sher-Gil Amrita Sher-Gil (30 January 1913 – 5 December 1941) was a Hungarian–Indian painter. She has been called "one of the greatest avant-garde women artists of the early 20th century" and a pioneer in modern Indian art. Drawn to painting from an ...

as amongst her first artistic influences with her early works focusing on figurative motifs. Her works later focused on urban ecology and environmental degradation. They were exhibited in solo shows across India, Singapore, and the US, as well as group exhibitions in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

and

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, in addition to other cities in India. In a review of her first individual showing in New York in 2002, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' 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." 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 Sahitya Kala Parishad (साहित्य कला परिषद) (Academy of Performing and Fine Arts) is the Cultural wing of the Govt. of National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT) of Delhi for music, dance, drama & fine arts, established ...

's Yuva Mahotsava in 1991. Her last exhibition, held in September 2019 at

Talwar Gallery Talwar Gallery, founded by Deepak Talwar, is a contemporary art gallery that opened in New York City in September 2001 and in New Delhi in 2007. Overview Talwar Gallery, New York was launched in September 2001 and Talwar New Delhi opened in 2 ...

and titled ''I am still here'', was autobiographical with her depiction of her own body and her illness due to cancer. The paintings used oil on mixed media. In a review ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

'' 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." Some of her works included ''Bleed Bled Blood Red'' (2015), ''Heart (Machine)'' (2016), and ''Blackness'' (2016). Singh died from cancer on 17 November 2020 in New Delhi, aged 53.

References

External links

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Masquerade
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I am still here
' *
Artist Profile
' {{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Anjum 1967 births 2020 deaths 20th-century Indian painters Indian women contemporary artists Indian contemporary painters Women artists from Delhi Painters from Delhi Deaths from cancer in India 20th-century Indian women painters 21st-century Indian women painters