Anya Tish Gallery presents Ruhee Maknojia: Pattern and Power
2023 Acrylic on canvas 48 x 36 in
Anya Tish Gallery in Montrose will host a compelling conversation between Ruhee Maknojia, South-Asian, Houston-based artist and Bridget Bray, independent curator, arts advisor.
In conjunction with Maknojia’s current solo exhibition, Pattern and Power, featuring new captivating paintings, a poetic animation, and an installation of a manufactured paradise. Refreshments will be served
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; Project V Gallery, New York City, NY; Eastern Connecticut State University, Windham, CT; IAU College, 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.
Bridget Bray is an independent curator and arts advisor based in Houston, Texas. She served as the Nancy C. Allen Curator and Director of Exhibitions at Asia Society Texas from 2014 through 2022, and organized exhibitions featuring the work of artists such as Mel Chin, Phung Huynh, Tuan Andrew Nguyen, Hung Liu, and Mineko Grimmer. Her creation of the annual Artists on Site residency program at Asia Society in spring 2020 continues to support Houston-based BIPOC artists through a re-envisioned use of the galleries and related programming.
Her most recent responsibilities prior to her arrival in Houston were leading the curatorial department at the University of Southern California’s Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena, CA. During her ten years of service there, she curated major exhibitions of both historical and contemporary arts of Asia and the Pacific Islands. She has lived and worked in Asia, including India, China, and Nepal, and was educated at Georgetown University and University of Washington, Seattle.
Houston, Texas 77006