RUHEE MAKNOJIA: Pattern and Power

September 08 - November 10,2023

From Anya Tish Gallery: "Anya Tish Gallery is excited to present Pattern and Power, the gallery’s debut solo exhibition of South Asian-American artist Ruhee Maknojia, whose artwork and conceptual research is influenced by the aesthetics and philosophies of Indo-American culture. Maknojia utilizes the dichotomy of these two societies to propose global questions about contemporary ethics, values, and power structures in an ever-growing and interconnected world. The viewer will enter Maknojia’s fictional, sublime world of paintings, installation, and animation to learn and discover the intricacies, importance, and ethnology of patterns, emphasizing and identifying their multicultural relationships. Drawing from her environment, growing up in the United States in an Indian- Pakistani home, Maknojia colorfully unfolds traditional wisdom from a place of intuition and intention. In Maknojia’s work patterns act as a base to speak to contemporary life and embody practices that produce and highlight the intersecting complexities and connections between the local and the global, the individual and the collective. Maknojia studies where historically rich patterns derive - particularly South-Asia and America - as well as what philosophers wrote about these heritage-based motifs, acknowledging these textiles as an active participant in the storytelling process of history. She then transforms the enigmatic motifs and shapes into what the artist calls Magicalscapes, dually fictitious and historical imagery that is purposely left open-ended to encourage the viewer to create their own end to this alternative story of history. From the Artist: “Pattern and Power is a series of paintings, animation, and installation that utilize vibrant heritage-based patterns to bridge ordinary moments of modern life with concepts of magical realism, philosophy, history, and storytelling. This particular collection of work consociates 10th to 16th century poetic fables with mundane moments from contemporary life. The paintings and animation delve into the visual possibilities that arise when tales like ‘The Case of the Animals versus Man’ by the Ikhwân al-Safâ unfold in the present day. It explores possible relationships that can form between literary masterpieces originating from eastern oral traditions and the current visual art space. Traditionally, these fables often contained themes such as caring for nature, questioning social power structures, and combating the dissemination of falsehoods, this oeuvre examines how medieval fables from the continent of Asia continue to convey wisdom that transcends its cultural geographical origins and remain relevant curiosities to this day.” Born in 1993 in Houston, TX, where she is currently based, Ruhee Maknojia received her MFA in Visual Arts in 2019 from Columbia University, New York, NY, and in 2016 her BA in Studio Art and in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Texas, Austin, TX. In 2014, she attended the Institute Catholic de Paris, Paris, France, and IAU College, Aix-en-Provence, France. Maknojia is a recipient of several awards and grants, most recently, the Wendy Wagner Foundation Grant (2023); the Idea Fund Grant funded by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts (2023); the Mulert Award, St. Elmo Lady Bird Johnson Fellowship; the Roy Crane Award, amongst many others. In 2022, Maknojia completed an artist on site residency at the Asia Society Texas Center, Houston, TX. Maknojia has shown nationally and internationally in cities and institutions such as Lawndale Art Center, Houston, TX; Asia Society Texas Center, Houston, TX; Austin, TX; New York City, NY; Windham, CT; Aix-en-Provence, France. Maknojia has been featured in several publications, such as Artnet News, Hyperallergic, Faction Art Projects, Glasstire, Willimantic Chronicle, Columbia University, Rice University, Houston Chronicle, and will be featured in the upcoming New American Paintings, Issue 168. Maknojia’s work is in private and institutional collections such as Eastern Connecticut State University, Windham, CT, and The LeRoy Neiman Center for Print Studies, New York City, NY. In May 2023, Maknojia was selected and collaborated with Comcast to create a commissioned work titled, Connected, for Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month."

Reception: September 08, 2023 | 6-8 pm

Artist talk: September 16, 2023 | 2-5 pm

Closing: November 04, 2023 | 2-5 pm

Anya Tish Gallery 4411 Montrose
Houston, TX 77006
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