# Yahel Chirinian > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Yahel_Chirinian > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Yahel_Chirinian.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahel_Chirinian > Source revision: 1343438292 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) **Yahel Chirinian** is a French [contemporary](/source/Contemporary_art) sculptor and installation artist who lives and works in India. She opened the avant-garde Monsoon Heritage Studio in [Goa](/source/Goa) in 2002 and won the "Goan of the Year" Award in the Arts and Culture category from [Lokmat](/source/Lokmat) in 2016.[1] ## Biography Yahel Chirinian was born on 29 August 1970 in [Avignon](/source/Avignon) (France), where she discovered the world of [theatre](/source/Theatre), [contemporary dance](/source/Contemporary_dance), [literature](/source/Literature) and the [arts](/source/The_arts).[2] She won a scholarship to attend Immaculee Conception boarding school in [Carpentras](/source/Carpentras),[2] and later earned admission to the [École supérieure d'art d'Avignon](/source/%C3%89cole_sup%C3%A9rieure_d'art_d'Avignon) and won a grant at the [Musashino Art University](/source/Musashino_Art_University) of [Tokyo](/source/Tokyo). After studying [plastic arts](/source/Plastic_arts) and [architecture](/source/Architecture), she specialized in [visual art](/source/Visual_arts) and [conceptual art](/source/Conceptual_art) [installations](/source/Installation_art). She settled in Goa ([India](/source/India)) in 2002, where she continues her artistic career through her studio, Monsoon Heritage. ## The Monsoon Heritage Studio Chirinian's work reappropriates [Hindu](/source/Hindus) sacred icons as well as classic symbols from western art. The artist chooses to represent gods from the Hindu pantheon including [Kali](/source/Kali) and [Ganesh](/source/Ganesh), so as other personalities like [Shivaji](/source/Shivaji) or [sadhu](/source/Sadhu)'s skulls. Her works take the form of sculpture, to which she affixes shards of mirror glass. She cites [Jean Cocteau](/source/Jean_Cocteau) as a major influence, particularly his relationship to the truth and appearances and his perception of the world.[3][2] At Monsoon Heritage, Chirinian works with a team of female assistants, hiring women from difficult family and social backgrounds.[4] The studio provides installations for international private collections and [art galleries](/source/Art_galleries). Chirinian's work also can be found in luxury hotels in India such as the Park Hotel[5] from [Kolkatta](/source/Kolkata), [Hyderabad](/source/Hyderabad) and Goa, and the Taj Hotels. Journalist Karen Lajon, from the "[Le journal du dimanche](/source/Le_Journal_du_Dimanche)" once asserted *"The sculptures of Ganesh have found their place. Whether it is among Indian politicians or Bollywood and Hollywood celebrities, the iconic centerpiece of Yahel Chirinian is now a part of the Indian Artistic heritage."*[2] The National Center of Plastic Arts (*"Le Centre national des arts plastiques"*) describes Chirinian's art as *"halfway between holy object and decoration object […], her art makes flirt design and art, pop and baroque, sacred and sacrilege"*.[6] ## List of exhibitions and installations • May 2013: "The Park Hotel"[7] - Goa (Hospitality) • March 2012: "Neemrana's Ishavilas"[8] - Goa (Hospitality) • November - December 2010: *Sadhu pop, vanitas vanitatum*[9]- Paris (Art Gallery) • January – February 2010: *If I can't dance* tonight[10] – Bruxelles (Art gallery) • May 2008: "The Park Hotel, Aura Spa"[11] - [Hyderabad](/source/Hyderabad) (Hospitality) ## Distinction Chirinian received the award of "Best Artist and Contribution to Art" of the year 2016, in the category Art and Culture.[12] She is the first artist to achieve artistic distinction in India as a woman and a foreigner.[2] ## References 1. ["Lokmat initiates 'Goan of the Year' Awards 2016"](https://www.adgully.com/lokmat-initiates-goan-of-the-year-awards-2016-66974.html). May 28, 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2021. 1. JDD, Le. ["L'Inde récompense l'artiste française Yahel Chirinian"](https://web.archive.org/web/20170217044245/http://www.lejdd.fr/International/Asie/L-Inde-recompense-l-artiste-francaise-Yahel-Chirinian-793570). *www.lejdd.fr*. Archived from [the original](http://www.lejdd.fr/International/Asie/L-Inde-recompense-l-artiste-francaise-Yahel-Chirinian-793570) on 17 February 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2017. 1. ["Yahel Chirinian"](https://goanolimits.com/2013/05/21/yahel-chirinian/). *goanolimits.com*. 20 May 2013. Retrieved 20 June 2017. 1. ["Les trésors de l'Inde avec Yahel Chirinian - Jeanne Magazine Magazine & Boutique"](https://web.archive.org/web/20170304201859/http://www.jeanne-magazine.com/le-magazine/2014/03/06/les-tresors-de-linde-avec-yahel-chirinian_6929/). *jeanne-magazine.com*. 6 March 2014. Archived from [the original](https://www.jeanne-magazine.com/le-magazine/2014/03/06/les-tresors-de-linde-avec-yahel-chirinian_6929/) on 4 March 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2017. 1. ["The Park Holiday Beach – Calangute"](https://goanolimits.com/2013/06/13/the-park-holiday-beach-calangute/). *goanolimits.com*. 13 June 2013. Retrieved 20 June 2017. 1. ["Galerie 13 Jeannette Mariani - Centre national des arts plastiques"](http://www.cnap.fr/yahel-chirinian). *www.cnap.fr*. Retrieved 20 June 2017. 1. ["The Hot List 2012"](https://web.archive.org/web/20170518114447/http://www.cntraveller.com/awards/the-hot-list/hot-list-2012/page/the-park-on-holiday-beach,-goa). *cntraveller.com*. Archived from [the original](http://www.cntraveller.com/awards/the-hot-list/hot-list-2012/page/the-park-on-holiday-beach,-goa) on 18 May 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2017. 1. ["Feel right at home in Goa"](http://www.theaustralian.com.au/life/travel/feel-right-at-home-in-goa/news-story/dc8109641d5537e7a7a18e247eb853c5). *theaustralian.com.au*. 23 March 2012. Retrieved 20 June 2017. 1. ["Sâdhu Pop, Vanitas vanitatum"](http://www.paris-art.com/sadhu-pop-vanitas-vanitatum/). *paris-art.com*. 17 November 2010. Retrieved 20 June 2017. 1. Spidermian. ["Nouvelles d'Arménie en Ligne on the air"](https://web.archive.org/web/20150427031037/http://armenews.com/article.php3?id_article=57770). *www.armenews.com*. Archived from [the original](http://www.armenews.com/article.php3?id_article=57770) on 27 April 2015. Retrieved 20 June 2017. 1. ["Aura Spa at the Park Hotel / Khosla Associates"](http://www.archdaily.com/145248/aura-spa-at-the-park-hotel-khosla-associates). *archdaily.com*. 7 July 2011. Retrieved 20 June 2017. 1. ["Lokmat initiates 'Goan of the Year' Awards 2016"](https://www.adgully.com/lokmat-initiates-goan-of-the-year-awards-2016-66974.html?amp=1). *www.adgully.com*. Retrieved 20 June 2017. - ["Yahel Chirinian"](https://web.archive.org/web/20181102043924/http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/05/prweb234493.htm). Monsoon Heritage (Press release). 2 May 2005. via Prweb.com. - Vanduffel, Elisabeth (12 June 2008). ["Yahel Chirinian"](http://thesublimeagency.blogspot.in/2008/12/yahel-chirinian.html). Thesublimeagency.blogspot.com. - Arnold, Beth (26 November 2010). ["Letter From Paris: The Skulls of Yahel Chirinian"](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/beth-arnold/letter-from-paris-the-sku_b_788542.html). *The Huffington Post*. - Sangghvi, Malavika (11 June 2012). ["The house that Yahel built"](http://www.mid-day.com/columnists/2012/jun/110612-opinion-The-house-that-Yahel-built.htm). Mid-Day. --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Yahel Chirinian](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahel_Chirinian) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yahel_Chirinian?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.