Invitation
Bio
Artwork
 
 

IAAC Exhibition of Contemporary Indian Art of the Diaspora 2011   

 
Kuzana Ogg
Anjali Deshmukh


 

Artist Statement

In these works, abstracted botanical forms flow under, sprout from, dangle decoratively and otherwise mirror their corporeal counterparts. Water is represented both in form and surface. It is indicated by lingering marks, a glassy surface, and glazes of color. It is present in the shape of ripe mangos and in the stems of aquatic plants. The mysteries of plant life echo the workings of the human body. These processes offer a glimpse into the divine.

The titles of these works reflect the enigma of language in general and those foreign to me in particular. They have been chosen randomly to express the incidental manner of acquiring language; first as a child in India, and subsequently as an adult living and travelling through various countries.

Bio


Kuzana was born in Bombay in the early ‘70s. Her parents brought her home on the back of their motorcycle. The first years of her life were divided between the ancestral home of her grandfather, surrounded by lush gardens and groves of coconut trees, and the exquisite Worli sea face home of her grandmother. Her earliest memories are of temperate weather, fragrant jasmine blossoms, and layers upon layers of color.

A short while later, Kuzana and her infant sister joined their newly immigrated parents in England. The landscape changed from streets crammed with disorderly traffic and cows to cars neatly parked in rows. Crumbling palatial structures were replaced by tidy brick homes with frilly curtains. Plastic toys took over when those of tin and copper couldn’t be found.

Kuzana’s education was in a series of boarding schools; Cornwall and Surrey in England, after that- Kodaikanal in the south of India. At the age of 10, Kuzana and her family moved to New York. Her secondary education was completed at Catholic and public schools.

In 1995, she graduated from SUNY Purchase. Marriage followed shortly thereafter, and she and her beloved moved to South Korea. They spent the next six years living in historic Kyung Ju; teaching English and learning Korean, before they returned to the United States.

Kuzana and her husband have been living in New Mexico since 2001. She has participated in several residencies, the most recent in Sri Lanka. Her work has been exhibited, published and collected both nationally and internationally.

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