Anoli Perea was born in 1962 in Colombo. A self taught artist, she is currently based in Colombo and works as a full time professional artist. She has been part of the wave of artists in the 1990s who have professed a new ideological position in the art production in relation to the contemporary art knowledge and social context in Sri Lanka . She has been trained as a stone carver in the USA and has had number of art exhibitions in Sri Lanka as well as internationally. Her art practice of over 15 years includes painting, sculpture, installation, and object art.
Apart form art making, she is involved in writing on art as well as organizing and curating art events. She is a founder member of the Theertha International Artists' Collective an artists led initiative that support experimental art and socially informed and critically engaging art.