Biography Ela Shah was born in Bombay, India. She began painting at a very early age, and living in India she learned Indian miniature painting techniques as well as various Western styles. After receiving her Bachelors degree in Psychology and a Diploma in Fine Arts from India, she traveled around the world and subsequently moved to the United States and received her M.A. in sculpture at Montclair State University. Although an American citizen, she has been able to hold on to her Indian heritage and incorporate elements of it into her artwork along with Western influences.

Dan Bischoff from Star Ledger and reviewer of the Arts Annual of New Jersey wrote "cultural exploration is the lot of thousands of a hyphenated artist, and one of the stars of this [movement] is Indian American painter-assemblage artist Ela Shah."

Gail Stavitsky, the chief curator of Montclair Art Museum recently stated "I am really intrigued by the multicultural element of her work, she is able to create a bridge between her Indian background and her American home." She has also been reviewed by Mr. William Zimmer in the New York Times twice, and was featured in a New York Times article written by Pooja Makhijani.

Ela Shah has had numerous one person shows in India and America. Her work has been exhibited in countless group shows in America and abroad in various prestigious galleries and museums. She has also held positions as a chairperson for the National Association of Women’s Artists in N.Y, and has curated shows for them and other art institutions.

Her work is in collection in N.J. State Museum, Montclair Museum, Jersey City Museum, Newark Library, Hunterdon Museum Air India, Indian Embassy and other public places and private collectors. She has received numerous awards and fellowships including the New Jersey State Council on the Arts for painting in 2004 and in sculpture in 1999, the Dodge Foundation and the New Jersey Innovative Printmaking Fellowship at the Rutgers University. She has received two awards from National Association of Women Artists in New York, which are the Amelia Peabody Memorial Award and Elizabeth Morse Genius Foundation Award.

Although Ela now works primarily in sculpture, painting remains an integral part of her work as well. After coming to America, her vision of painting changed. Paintings of beautiful people and joyous occasions transformed into multilayered sculptures and paintings. The architectural sculptures are structures of faith for her; faith in oneself, humankind and divine power. Indian gods and goddesses go hand in hand with American pop culture icons such as Big Bird and Spider Man, both symbols of power and hope. Although the sculptures appear comical or humorous at first sight, they also address religious, political and cultural issues created by multiculturalism in our global society.

Her work also addresses the conflicts between the spiritual and material world. The works are spiritual, but the notion of religiosity is universal rather than specific in nature. They depict how women keep faith in the modern world. Her work depicts women’s hopes, fears, pleasures and pains, as well as their confusions between a family life and a successful career.