Today we’d like to introduce you to Ruhee Maknojia.
Hi Ruhee, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am a full-time visual artist with an active studio art practice in Houston, Texas. I received a B.A. in Middle Eastern Studies and a B.A. in Fine Arts from the University of Texas at Austin. After graduating, I spent a year in France working in an art gallery specializing in Oceanic art. During this time, I became fluent in French and began to take my art practice more seriously. A year later, I left France to study art in New York City, where I received my Master’s in Fine Arts from Columbia University. Due to the unexpected nature of the COVID-19 pandemic that followed a few months after completing my studies, I decided to relocate my art practice to my hometown of Houston, Texas.
My conceptual research and art practice developed around the concept of variegated belongings, which is the idea that an individual can identify with several sometimes-conflicting groups and still retain a sense of belonging to each. As someone who identifies as Pakistani-American, Indian-American, Muslim-American, and Texan-Amerian, my practice explores what it means to live on the hyphen, as my membership to these sometimes seemingly disparate groups gives me a unique perspective that I use to engender civil discourse and discussion.
I use my art to highlight the complexities behind variegated belongings and show that belonging to disparate groups can be a source of power. A complex, but fully-realized, sense of identity can encourage a mutual exchange of ideas and understanding between diverse peoples, communities, and faiths. My art engages a broad audience across various topics by using symbolism from many backgrounds and leaving imagery open-ended, thereby encouraging the viewer to complete the story. The type of research my artwork is influenced by is perfect in a place like Houston, where the community and people are wide-ranging and diverse in their worldview, which is a powerful source of artistic inspiration.
I often incorporate American and South Asian aesthetics and philosophies into my work as a medium through which to raise questions about contemporary ethics, values, and power structures in an ever-growing global and interconnected world. My art frequently uses patterns and repetition to seek beauty in abstract spaces of distress. The acts of making, building, and creating are methods to understand, preserve, and build upon civil discourse. The multicultural experience of growing up in Houston in a culturally Indo-Pakistani home has influenced the aesthetic choices throughout my body of work. My artistic engagements translate into installations, paintings, videos, drawings, printmaking, and writing.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Starting a studio art practice in any city comes with challenges. I was establishing my practice in Houston during the early period of COVID-19 when many art galleries were closing their doors, and people felt hesitant to meet with strangers. Artists are often dependent on community support for their work. Being disconnected from the Houston art scene for almost two years was challenging. Every day I would search for ways to engage with an audience through virtual meetings and platforms. Trying to keep up with online engagement did not always translate as smoothly as in-person events did in the past, but it became a lifeline to keep the studio doors open. Fortunately, after the recent opening of my installation at Box 13 ArtSpace, I notice that people are starting to feel safe attending in-person events.
Additionally, in-person lectures and artist talks are happening again, which is a great way to meet new artists, curators, educators, cultural leaders, and local community members. Seeing life return to some of the more traditional aspects of the art community has been breathtaking. My art practice has received much support from artists and local community organizations that believe in the ideas I seek to investigate, which has helped keep my practice thriving even in the most challenging times.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am primarily known for my vibrant paintings and large-scale room installations. My paintings and installations often play with traditional South Asian and American patterns that I grew up seeing around my home and history textbooks. I merge this aesthetic with imagery that deals with contemporary and social issues of our time as a way to engage with audiences. This engagement often encourages a mutual exchange of ideas and understanding between diverse peoples, communities, and faiths.
I am most grateful for how far my art practice has come, something that would not have been possible without the support of family, friends, artist grants, and local community organizations.
I am eager to talk more about my installation currently on view at Box 13 ArtSpace of parchment paper that hangs from the ceiling to the floor. Each paper chronologically displays flowers for every American life lost to COVID-19 and a date marking the number of individuals who passed on a particular day. The project is here to help viewers grapple with the magnitude of lives lost through 800,000+ small stamped flowers and what that might mean for those who experience the installation.
How do you think about happiness?
My happiness comes from the journey it takes to build a project and installation and sees it come together for an audience. I make my art for my community, for people who can engage with art from a place of multiculturalism, pluralism, hope, and aspiration. The engaging dialogue that can happen between people through my art drives my practice to new and illuminating spaces.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ruheemaknojia.com
- Instagram: @ruheemaknojia
Image Credits
Almond Butterscotch
