Guillaume Lo-A-Njoe

Guillaume Lo-A-Njoe studied at Gerrit Rietveld Academie. The recorded working language is Dutch. Places of work recorded in the authority are Amsterdam and Suriname. Work by Guillaume Lo-A-Njoe is recorded in the collections of Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, National Museum of World Cultures, ASR art collection, Museum de Fundatie and Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. Distinctions recorded are Royal Prize for Painting.

Lo-A-Njoe has Nepalese, Indian and Chinese ancestry. His ancestors moved to Surinam, a former Dutch colony, now known as Suriname. His parents immigrated to the Netherlands in 1937, and Lo-A-Njoe was born in Amsterdam later that year. He lived through the Second World War as a young child. From 1953 to 1958, Lo-A-Njoe studied fine art and painting at the Amsterdam Kunstnijverheidsschool (School of Applied Arts), a predecessor to the Gerrit Rietveld Academie. In 1958, Lo-A-Njoe received the Koninklijke Subsidie voor de Vrije Schilderkunst (Royal Subsidy for Fine Art Painting) to encourage young promising artists. Later that year, he had his first exhibition at Café Eijlders: a large venue at the Leidseplein in Amsterdam, which is famous for its artistic ambiance and clientele. During the 1960s and 70s, he made many study trips in Europe and lived in the United States and Suriname. He also travelled to India, Morocco, Mexico and the Caribbean for inspiration. Lo-A-Njoe's art is present in museums worldwide: the Municipal Museum of Mexico City; Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam; Cobra Museum for Modern Art in Amstelveen; Kunstmuseum Den Haag in The Hague; Surinaams Museum in Paramaribo; het Curaçaosch Museum in the Dutch Caribbean; the state art collection of the Netherlands (Rijksdienst voor het Cultureel Erfgoed); among others. Besides having a presence in museums, Lo-A-Njoe's art can be found in many private[2] collections worldwide and is regularly put up for auction at prestigious auction houses such as AAG (Arts & Antiques Group)[3] or Christie's[4] and Sotheby's. Lo-A-Njoe also works as a commissioned artist for private and public commissions. In Amsterdam, two of his commissioned artworks can be seen in public space. He designed a plaque to commemorate Surinamese nationalist and WWII resistance fighter Anton de Kom, who died in a concentration camp. The plaque was unveiled by Lo-A-Njoe on 24 November 1990 at the Anton de Kom square in Amsterdam.[5] In 1991, a monument was unveiled in memory of the victims of Surinam Airways Flight 764, which crashed on 7 June 1989 during en route to Paramaribo-Zanderij International Airport, killing 176 of the 187 on board, making it the deadliest aviation disaster in Suriname's history.[6] In 2008, Lo-A-Njoe celebrated his 70th birthday and his 50th anniversary as an artist. This special jubilee was enough reason for a large retrospective where he showed works spanning his entire career which still continues to date. Lo-A-Njoe currently lives and works in Amsterdam-Noord where he and his wife Lydia continue to receive guests and prospective clients and prepare exhibitions. A new personal website features his motto: 'The beauty of a painting is that it makes no sound.' Lo-A-Njoe states that, according to him, 'Creating bears witness to my presence on Earth.' In 2019, Guillaume celebrated his 60th anniversary as an artist with large retrospective shows, like the 'Arti et Amicitia' art collective in Amsterdam in July 2019, the oldest artist association and club in Amsterdam.

Guillaume Lo-A-Njoe is recorded as painter, sculptor, draftsperson and muralist. Recognition and collections. Lo-A-Njoe received Royal Prize for Painting.