ANUJAN EZHIKODE
Statement | Contact
I was born and raised in Kerala, India. My earliest influences were the elaborate temple arts and colorful folk and religious rituals of my state. My interest in the visual arts led me to enter the theater arts program at the Kerala Kalamandalam (The Kerala State Academy of Arts). There I studied the intricate, built-up (almost sculptural) makeup and costume design for two, centuries old, dance-drama forms unique to Kerala, Kudiyattam (from the 10th century, considered to be the oldest, continuous theater form in the world) and Kathakali (established during the time of Shakespeare). Both art forms, tell stories from Hindu mythology. This rich artistic lineage of sound and color still fuels my art.
In New York, I studied painting, printmaking, and sculpture at the Art Students League where I received the "John Hovannes Memorial Merit Scholarship" and other honors. I have also won, a "Diverse Forms Artists Projects Regional Initiative Grant", a "Project Studio Program Residency at Painting Space 122", an installation for the "Mid-Manhattan library Art in Windows program" and a "Manhattan Graphics Center Fall Printmaking Scholarship".
Recently, I was one of six artists whose work and words were featured in a multi-media presentation for the National Day of Listening at the NYPL, on Fifth Avenue. This material is now archived at the Library of Congress. Recent exhibits include a solo show "Journey Through Broken Bubbles" at the UUFH Gallery in Huntington; featured artist at the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition's show "Lineage", where I presented an installation, print and painting project, "Transparent Space"; the Newark Annual Arts Festival's Invitational Artist Exhibition Ironbound Unbound #2 and a site specific installation for the inaugural show at the Prospect St. Fire House Cultural Center as part of Ironbound Unbound #3. I have been exhibiting in the yearly traveling show "IAAC's Erasing Borders Exhibition of Contemporary Indian Art of the Diaspora" and at the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition [BWAC] galleries in Red Hook, where I am an exhibiting member.
In the fall of 2014, my work was at Strathmore's invitational gallery in a two person exhibit, Heritage India: Works by Anujan Ezhikode and Shanti Chandrasekar. Currently, my work can be seen in the touring exhibition IAAC's "Erasing Borders 2015"; in BWAC's 2015 season at their Red Hook, Brooklyn galleries and in "Beyond Bollywood: Indian Americans Shape the Nation" at the Smithsonian, Washington, DC. This year and half long exhibition features the first in-depth examination into the history of Indian-Americans in the US.
Other selected exhibition venues include the Queens Museum of Art, Islip Art Museum, the Hammond Museum, JCAL, The Guild Art Gallery, the Aicon Gallery, the Twelve Gates Art Gallery, the Visual Arts Center of New Jersey, the galleries at Manhattanville College, Stony Brook University, University of Connecticut, Penn College, St. John's University, the 80 Washington Square East galleries at New York University, the Permanent Mission of India to the UN and the Indian Consulate.
| 2016 | BWAC, Grand Installation, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2014 | Strathmore, Heritage India: Works by Anujan Ezhikode and Shanthi Chandrasekar, Invitational Gallery, North Bethesda, MD |
| 2014 | Smithsonian, Beyond Bollywood: Indian Americans Shape the Nation, Washington, DC |
| 2012 | Newark Arts Council/Prospect St. Fire House Inaugural, Invitational, Ironbound/Unbound #3, NJ |
| 2011 | Newark Arts Council/Sumei Arts, Invitational, Ironbound/Unbound #2, NJ |
| 2010 | BWAC, featured artist Transparent Space, Lineage Show, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2010 | UUFH, Journey through Broken Bubbles, Huntington, NY |
| 2005 | Mid-Manhattan Library, Art in the Windows, NYC |
| 2004 | The Classroom at PS 122 Gallery, Residency Project, NYC |
| 2018 | India Inked!, Society of Northern Alberta Printmakers, Edmonton, CA, curator Nirmal Raja |
| 2018 | BWAC, Spring Show, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2017 | India Inked!, Arizona State University, Tempe, curator Nirmal Raja |
| 2017 | BWAC, Summer Show, Exhibitor & Show Chair, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2017 | India Inked!, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, curator Nirmal Raja |
| 2016 | 5th Avenue Bay Ridge SAW, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2016 | BWAC, Wide Open 7, curator Beth Saunders/The Met, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2016 | Center for Contemporary Art, Erasing Borders 2016, Bedminster Twp, NJ |
| 2016 | 18th Annual Postcards from the Edge, Sikkema Jenkins & Co., NYC |
| 2015 | BWAC, Face to Face, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2015 | Hammond Museum, Erasing Borders 2015, North Salem, NY |
| 2015 | BWAC, Scapes, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2015 | Williamsburg Art Center, Erasing Borders 2015, NY |
| 2015 | BWAC, Renew, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2015 | Flushing Town Hall, Erasing Borders 2015, NY |
| 2015 | 17th Annual Postcards from the Edge, Luhring Augustine, NYC |
| 2014 | Manhattanville College, Berger Art Gallery, Erasing Borders 2014, NY |
| 2014 | Infusion Gallery, Roots, curator Sarah Campbell, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2014 | Crossing Art, Erasing Borders 2014, Flushing, NY |
| 2014 | BWAC, Wide Open 5, curator Pauline Pobocha/MoMA, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2014 | Queen's Museum of Art, Erasing Borders 2014, NY |
| 2014 | 16th Annual Postcards from the Edge, Luhring Augustine, NYC |
| 2013 | Manhattanville College Berman Art Gallery, Erasing Borders 2013, NY |
| 2013 | Alfa Art Gallery, Namaste, New Brunswick, NJ |
| 2013 | Hammond Museum, Erasing Borders 2013, North Salem, NY |
| 2013 | BWAC, On the Waterfront, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2013 | Flushing Town Hall, Erasing Borders 2013, NY |
| 2013 | 15th Annual Postcards from the Edge, Sikkema Jenkins & Co., NYC |
| 2012 | Art6, Erasing Borders 2012, Richmond, VA |
| 2012 | BWAC, Coming to Brooklyn 2012, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2012 | Queens College, Amulets, Nazars & Evil Eyes, curator Tara Mathison, NY |
| 2012 | Bronx Charter School for the Arts, Erasing Borders 2012, NY |
| 2012 | GE's 2012 Asian Heritage Month Exhibit, curator Valerie A. Cooper, CT |
| 2012 | Crossing Art Gallery, Erasing Borders 2012, Queens, NY |
| 2012 | 14th Annual Postcards from the Edge, Cheim & Read, NYC |
| 2011 | Jorgensen Gallery, UConn, Erasing Borders 2011, Storrs, CT |
| 2011 | BWAC, Tales of Breukelen, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2011 | Aicon Gallery, Erasing Borders 2011, NYC |
| 2011 | Wang Center, Stony Brook University, Erasing Borders 2011, NY |
| 2011 | Queens Museum of Art, Erasing Borders 2011, NY |
| 2011 | Watchung Arts Center, India from my Window, curator Bindia Puri, NJ |
| 2011 | BWAC, Wide Open 2, curator Nat Trotman/Guggenheim, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2011 | 13th Annual Postcards from the Edge, CRG Gallery, NYC |
| 2010 | The Guild Art Gallery, Erasing Borders 2010, NYC |
| 2010 | Twelve Gates Art Gallery, Erasing Borders 2010, Philadelphia, PA |
| 2010 | Visual Arts Center of NJ, Erasing Borders 2010, Summit, NJ |
| 2010 | BWAC, Nailed, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2010 | 12th Annual Postcards from the Edge, ZieherSmith, NYC |
| 2009 | Gallery at Penn College, Erasing Borders 2009, Williamsport, PA |
| 2009 | Queens Museum of Art, Erasing Borders 2009, NY |
| 2009 | BWAC, Art in Changing Perspectives, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2009 | Dowd Fine Art Gallery SUNY College at Cortland, Erasing Borders 2009 |
| 2009 | 11th Annual Postcards from the Edge, Metro Pictures, NYC |
| 2008 | Queens Museum of Art, Erasing Borders 2008, NY |
| 2008 | Islip Art Museum, A Passion for Pixels, curator Bruce Deitrich Price, NY |
| 2008 | Hammond Museum, Erasing Borders 2008, North Salem, NY |
| 2008 | Brownson Gallery, Manhattanville College, Erasing Borders 2008, NY |
| 2008 | BWAC, Pier Show 16: Spring Ahead, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2008 | Tabla Rasa Gallery, Erasing Borders 2008, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2007 | 10th Annual Postcards from the Edge, James Cohan Gallery, NYC |
| 2007 | Islip Art Museum, Free Play, curator Judith Page, Long Island, NY |
| 2007 | 440 Gallery, Small Works Show, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2007 | BWAC, Pier Show 15: Connections, Brooklyn , NY |
| 2007 | JCAL, The Field, curator Heng-Gil, Jamaica, NY |
| 2006 | 440 Gallery, Small Works Show, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2006 | JCAL, Mother Tongue, curator Mary Bernstein, Jamaica, NY |
| 2006 | BWAC, Pier Show 14: Transformation, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2006 | Consulate General of India New York & IAAC Show, NYC |
| 2005 | BWAC, Earth Summer Art Show, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2005 | 440 Gallery, Small Works Show, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2005 | Gallery 402, Drawing Show, NYC |
| 2004 | Painting Space 122, Project Studio Artists, NYC |
| 2004 | St. John's University, 9th Annual Exhibition, Queens, NY |
| 2004 | 80 Washington Sq. East Galleries, Small Works Show, NYU |
| 2003 | Islip Art Museum, Noah's Ark Show, Long Island, NY |
| 2006 | Printmaking Scholarship, Manhattan Graphics Center, NYC. |
| 2003 | "Project Studio Program" at Painting Space 122, NYC. Studio space Oct. 2003 - Sept. 2004. |
| 1992 | Recipient of "Diverse Forms Artists' Projects: Regional Initiative" grant. |
| 1985-86 | John Hovannes Memorial Merit Scholarship, The Art Students League of New York. |
| 2006 | Manhattan Graphics Center, NYC |
| 1983-88 | The Art Students League of New York, NYC |
| 1985 | Color Print Atelier, New York University, NYC |
| 1982 | Kerala State Academy of Arts, Theater Arts, diploma & post-graduate work, India |
Diana Rohini LaVigne, "Anujan Ezhikode, Visual Artist", NRI World Magazine, Jul-Sep 2015, Vol 02, Issue 3, http://www.nriachievers.org/magazine/index.html
Priya Chhaya, "Exploring "Dots" with Anujan Ezhikode", Smithsonian, 6/5/2014, smithsonianapa.org/beyondbollywood/2014/06/05/exploring-dots-with-anujan-exhikode/
Mallika Rao, "Finally, Indian-Americans Get the Exposure They Deserve", Huffington Post, 3/14/2014, www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/14/indian-americans-smithsonian-n-4957696.html
Diksha Basu, "Exploring how Indian Americans helped Shape US", BBC News, 3/12/2014, www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-26429592
Aziz Haniffa, "Passage to America", IndiaAbroad, 3/7/2014, A12/60, www.indiaabroad-digital.com/indiaabroad/20140307?pg=12#pg12
Priyanka Mogul, "In Conversation with ---Masum Momaya", The Desi Connection, 3/7/2014, the desiconnection.wordpress.com/2014/03/07/in-conversation-with-masum-momaya-the-woman-behind-the-beyond-bollywood-exhibition/
Arts Initiative, Columbia University, "Erasing Borders" exhibition announcement & photograph, March 2014, artsinitiative-columbia.edu/events/erasing-borders-exhibition-contemporary-indian-art-diaspora
Sam ShivRaj, "Artists from IAAC", India Talks, TWC 57, Queens, NY, 3/22/2013
"Anujan Ezhikode's Story", Smithsonian, Indian American Heritage Project, 2013 apa.si.edu/indianamerican/stories/anujan-ezhikode.html
Diana Rohini LaVigne, "Bringing forth the colors of Kerala in America: Anujan Ezhikode", IndiaWest, 7/2/12, http://www.indiawest.com/blogs/bringing-forth-the colors-of-kerala-in-america-anujan-ezhikode/article_7451b04d-e59a-5bb4-9ef0-a00f97605fea.html
Arlene McKanic, "Queens College Exhibit Explores Evil Eye Mysticism", Times Ledger, 5/19/2012, www.timesledger.com/stories/2012/20/evileyeexhibit-all-2012-05-17-q.html/
Josey Bartlett, "A Modern Twist on the Evil Eye and Nazars" Queens Chronicle, 5/3/2012, www.qchron.com/qboro/stories/a-modern-twist-on-the-evil-eye-nazars/article-a37acde3-68d2-5538-9304-6bf26db882ea.html?NNomobile
Adam Warner, "New Show in Red Hook asks you to get in "line", The Brooklyn Paper, 10/7/2010 33, 41.
Victoria Donohoe, "Diaspora at Twelve Gates", Philadelphia Inquirer, 7/2/2010, W24
Constance Rosenbaum, "A Well Curated Space" slide show, 3 paintings, New York Times, 1/5/2010, www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/01/15/realestate/0117habi-index-9.html
Beth Fertig, "After your Turkey, a Day of Listening", All Things Considered, WNYC, NYC, 11/29/2009, www.wnyc.org/story/87497-after-your-turkey-a-day-of-listening//
S. David, Confluences: The Narratives Show, Skaldic Soul, 2008, p57, (isbn) 978-0-615-25515-6
Lavanya Garikina, "Indian Diaspora Artists Express Indian Identity in the U.S.", NRI Today, April 2008, www.nritoday.net/community-news/402-indian-diaspora-artists-express-indian-identity-in-the-us