DIGITAL COPY ON MAGZTER‘A
njolie di's works have marked the
beginning of a generation of art in
India,’ says Mithu Sen. No one is
going to dispute that. Anojolie Ela Menon
has been one of the pioneering women
artists in India who created her own domain
with her unique figurative works. ‘Her
fascinating works for me are the painted
real window series,’ says Mithu. ‘I loved that
idea of bringing emotions on those everyday
objects and creating a new perspective on
composing space through the grid of the
windows.’ But it is the calm serenity in
Anjolie’s works, the challenging attitude in
handling medium and her enormous energy
in real life that Mithu admires most. There is
hardly anything in common in their worksexcept for the fact both have underlying tones
of gender propositions. Anjolie is primarily
a painter, Mithu works across media. Both
have developed their own language. Her early
interest in Christian iconography and fresco,
says Anjolie, ‘required working on a hard
surface with thin glazes. So I have devised a
technique of my own using oil on masonite.
Oils are my favourite medium because they
allow a nuanced depth that acrylic doesn’t.’
On the other hand, Mithu believes that
the different mediums such as language,
performance, drawing, sculpture, sound or
video help in communicating ideas. ‘An idea
cannot always be communicated through
visuals; it must be “felt”, “experienced”. For
me, my medium is LIFE...’ She wants to beAnjolie Ela Menon and Mithu Sen
Gallery and the Artist Tongue That Won't Stop Wounding
a 20-minute Interactive Performance by Mithu Sen in the
Exhibition, After Midnight: Indian Modernism to Contemporary
India, 1947/1997, Curated by Arshiya Lokhandwala, Ph.D. at
Queens Museum, Queens, New York
Image Courtesy of Queens Museum, Queens, New York(^54) / arts illustrated / feb 2016 - mar 2016 /IAF - Delhi Connecting Art