ANUJAN EZHIKODE
Statement | Contact
I was born and raised in the state of Kerala in South India. My earliest influences of temple arts, folk and religious rituals, music and dance combined with my interest in visual arts led me to enter the theater arts program at the Kerala Kalamandalam (The Kerala State Academy of Arts). There I studied the elaborate, 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 theatrical training enabled me to see the importance of movement, light, and color in art.
Upon coming to 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".
I was one of six artists whose work and words were featured in an audio, video, and live presentation for the National Day of Listening at the NYPL, on Fifth Avenue, in 2009. The interview material is archived at the Library of Congress.
In May of 2010, my show "Journey Through Broken Bubbles" was held at the UUFH Gallery in Huntington, NY. That fall, I was the featured artist at the Brooklyn Waterfront Artists Coalition's show "Lineage". I showed a new body of work called "Transparent Space" composed of paintings, works on paper, prints and an installation.
My work has been shown at museums, galleries, universities, and libraries among them 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.
| 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 |
| 2011 | Jorgensen Gallery, Un. of Connecticut, Erasing Borders 2011, Storrs, CT |
| 2011 | BWAC, Tales of Breukelen, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2011 | Aicon Gallery, Erasing Borders 2011, NYC |
| 2011 | BWAC, Black & White, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2011 | Wang Center, Stony Brook University, Erasing Borders 2011, NY |
| 2011 | BWAC, Convergence in Red Hook, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2011 | Queens Museum of Art, Erasing Borders 2011, NY |
| 2011 | Watchung Arts Center, India from my Window, NJ |
| 2011 | BWAC, Wide Open 2, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2011 | Visual Aids, 13th Annual Postcards from the Edge, NY |
| 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 | Visual Aids, 12th Annual Postcards from the Edge, NYC |
| 2009 | Gallery at Penn College, Erasing Borders 2009, Williamsport, PA |
| 2009 | BWAC, The Words of Color, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2009 | Queens Museum of Art, Erasing Borders 2009, NY |
| 2009 | BWAC, Art in Changing Perspectives, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2009 | Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts, Erasing Borders 2009, NYC |
| 2009 | BWAC, The Color of Hope, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2009 | Dowd Fine Art Gallery SUNY College at Cortland, Erasing Borders 2009 |
| 2009 | Lower East Side Printshop, Printshop Benefit 2009 Show, NYC |
| 2009 | Visual Aids, 11th Annual Postcards from the Edge, NYC |
| 2008 | Queens Museum of Art, Erasing Borders 2008, NY |
| 2008 | BWAC, Art in Free Fall, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2008 | Islip Art Museum, A Passion for Pixels, Long Island, NY |
| 2008 | BWAC, Hot!, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2008 | Hammond Museum, Erasing Borders 2008, Salem, NY |
| 2008 | Brownson Gallery, Manhattanville College, Erasing Borders 2008, NY |
| 2008 | BWAC, Pier Show 16: Spring Ahead, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2008 | The Guild Gallery, Erasing Borders 2008, NYC |
| 2008 | Tabla Rasa, Erasing Borders 2008, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2008 | Lower East Side Printshop, 2008 Annual Benefit Show, NYC |
| 2007 | PS 122 Gallery, 122 for $122, NYC |
| 2007 | Visual Aids, 10th Annual Postcards from the Edge, NYC |
| 2007 | BWAC, Narratives, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2007 | Islip Art Museum, Free Play, Long Island, NY |
| 2007 | BWAC, A Really Big-Art Show, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2007 | 440 Gallery, Small Works Show, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2007 | BWAC, Pier Show 15: Connections, Brooklyn , NY |
| 2007 | JCAL, The Field, Jamaica, NY |
| 2006 | BWAC, Expermentation, Brooklyn , NY |
| 2006 | 440 Gallery, Small Works Show, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2006 | BWAC, Food for a Feast for the Eyes, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2006 | JCAL, Mother Tongue, Jamaica, NY |
| 2006 | BWAC, Pier Show 14: Transformation, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2006 | Land Gallery, Preview Show BWAC, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2006 | Art Gotham, The Square Foot Show, NYC |
| 2006 | Consulate General of India New York & IAAC Show, NYC |
| 2005 | BWAC, Fall Art Show, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2005 | Brooklyn Fine Arts Gallery, Small Works, Brooklyn, NY |
| 2005 | Art Gotham, The Square Foot Show, NYC |
| 2005 | AWOL Gallery, Square Foot IV, Brooklyn, NY |
| 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, NYC |
| 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 Student's 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 |