Mequitta Ahuja
2003 MFA, University of Illinois at Chicago
1998 BA, Hampshire College, Amherst, MA
FELLOWSHIPS
2018 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship
2015 Dora Maar House, Artist in Residence, Menerbes, France
2014 Siena Art Institute, Artist in Residence, Siena, Italy
2011-2012 MICA, Stewart-McMillan Artist in Residence, Baltimore, MD
2009-2010 Studio Museum in Harlem, Artist in Residence, New York, NY
2006-2008 Core Program, Artist in Residence, MFAH, Houston, TX
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2018 Notations Tiwani Contemporary
2014 Automythography The Dodd Contemporary Art Center, Athens, GA
2013 Mequitta Ahuja Thierry Golberg Gallery, New York, NY
2012 Mequitta Ahuja and Robert Pruitt Bakersfield Museum of
Art, Bakersfield, CA (2 person show)
2010 Trois Galerie Nathalie Obadia, Paris, France.
2010 Automythography II Arthouse, Austin, TX
2009 Automythography I BravinLee Programs, New York, NY
2008 Flowback Lawndale Art Center, Houston, TX
2007 Encounters BravinLee Programs, New York, NY
2005 Dancing on the Hide of Shere Khan 12X12, MCA, Chicago, IL
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2018 The Art World We Want, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
2017 American African American, Phillips, London
2017 Lucid Dreams and Distant Visions: Asian Society, NY
2017 Face to Face, California African American Museum, Los Angeles, CA
2017 Shifting David C. Driskell Center, College Park, Maryland
2016 Statements Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX
2016 Champagne Life Saatchi Gallery of Art, London, UK
2016 State of the Art Minneapolis Institute of Art & Telfair Museums
2015 Sondheim Finalist Exhibition Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD
2014 State of the Art Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, AR
2014 Marks of Genius Minneapolis Institute of Art, MN
2013 Portraiture Now National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC
2013 War Baby/Love Child DePaul Art Museum, Chicago, IL
2012 The Bearden Project The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY
2012 The Human Touch The Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, TX
2012 Red Maison Particuliere, Brussels, Belgium
2011 Collected:Ritual Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY
2011 Drawings for the New Century Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, MN
2010 Usable Pasts (Artists in Residence Exhibition Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY
2010Freedom to Expand Ulrich Museum of Art, Wichita, KS
2010 Body of Work (Women to Watch) National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC
2010 Art on Paper Weatherspoon Art Museum, Greensboro, North Carolina
2010 Until Now: Collecting the New (1960- 2010 Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, MN
2010 New Works for the Collection Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, TX
2009 Undercover Spelman College Museum of Fine Arts, Atlanta, GA
2009 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC
2008 Houston Collects Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Houston, TX
2007 Global Feminisms Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY
2007 Painters and Poets Ulrich Museum, Wichita, KS,
2006 Chimaera Tenri Cultural Institute of New York, NY
2006 New Art Event Ulrich Museum, Wichita, KS
2004 Baltimore/Chicago Maryland Institute College of Art, Curated by Kerry James Marshall, Baltimore, MD
INSTITUTIONAL COLLECTIONS
Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, TX
Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH
David C. Driskell Center, College Park, MD
Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Houston, TX
Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, MN
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Petrucci Family Foundation Collection of African American Art, Asbury, NJ
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) Wealth Management
Saatchi Gallery, London, UK
Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY
Ulrich Museum, Wichita, KS
U.S. State Department, Mumbai Consulate, India
AWARDS
2013 Maryland Individual Artist Award
2011 Louis Comfort Tiffany Award
2009 Joan Mitchell Award
2008 Artadia Award, Houston
2008 Cornelia and Meredith Long Prize
2003 Chicago Civic Arts Foundation, First Place
2002 University of Illinois Diversity Fellowship
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
2014 Crystal Bridges State of the Art Don Bacigalupi and Chad Alligood (Forthcoming)
2014 Point of View: African American Art from the Elliot and Kimberly Perry Collection Tress II p.85
2013 Blanton Museum of Art 110 Favorites From the Collection Simone F. Wicha Parade p.108
2013 DePaul Art Museum War Baby Love Child Laura Kina and WeiMing Dariotis, Front cover, about, 197; Automythography, 17, 197, 198; Dream Region, 198-99, 259n1, plate 32; hybrid vision of self, 188; interview, 197-99; Spark, 4-5, 198-99, plate 1
2013 Callaloo: Arts and Letters of the African Diaspora Volume 36, Number 2, Cover: Royal Ease, Surge
2012 The Studio Museum in Harlem The Bearden Project Thelma Golden and Lauren Haynes, Epilogue p.35
2012 Art and Social Justice Education: Culture as Commons “Mequitta Ahuja: Afrogalaxy” Romi Crawford
2010 The Studio Museum in Harlem Re: Collection “Kerry James Marshall” essay by Mequitta Ahuja p.98
2009 Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Collecting African American Art Alvia Wardlaw Back cover, p. 90-91
2009 Callaloo: Arts and Letters of the African Diaspora Volume 32, Number 1, Off the Edge p.279
2007 Brooklyn Museum Global Feminisms Maura Reilly and Linda Nochlin, Bio p.267 Boogie Woogie p.169
2007 Ulrich Museum Poets and Painters Katie Geha, Tsunami Generation p.28. with poet Eric Baus p.29
SELECTED PRESS
ARTnews.com “101 Women Artists Who Got Wikipedia Pages This Week” Robin Cembalast, Feb 6, 2014
The Chicago Tribune ‘War Baby’ is Something to See if You Can Let Go” Lori Waxman, May 8, 2013
Gallerist NY “Mequitta Ahuja at Thierry Goldberg Gallery” Will Heinrich, Nov 26, 2013
Face to Face: (Smithsonian blog) “Beneath the Surface: An Unusual Installation” Warren Perry, April 26, 2013
Vocolo 90.7FM “War Baby/Love Child” Interview with Brian Babylon, May 16, 2013
The Washington Post Editor’s Picks: “In Fact There Is Fiction on Display” Michael O’Sulivan, Dec 7, 2013
The International Review of African American Art “Usable Pasts…” Cherilyn Wright, 23.1, 2010
The New Yorker “Usable Pasts” Vince Aletti, August 18, 2010
ARTnews “Artists to Watch: The Key to Her Locks” Rachel Wolff, February, 2010, p. 76-77
Houston Public Radio KUHF “The Front Row” Meghan Handley, Jan 6, 2009
Houston Chronicle “Artwork is a Reflection of its Audience” Douglas Britt, Jan 8, 2009, p.E2
The New York Times “Last Chance” Holland Cotter, June 1, 2007
Art News “We’re Finally Infiltrating” Phoebe Hoban, February, 2007, p.112
Modern Painters “VIVA” Carrie Moyer, March, 2007, p.77
ARTIST TALKS
Brooklyn Museum
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
De Young Museum
Harvard University
Lawndale Art Center
Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (MCA)
Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA)
Northwestern University
Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery
Studio Museum in Harlem
2003 MFA, University of Illinois at Chicago
1998 BA, Hampshire College, Amherst, MA
FELLOWSHIPS
2018 John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship
2015 Dora Maar House, Artist in Residence, Menerbes, France
2014 Siena Art Institute, Artist in Residence, Siena, Italy
2011-2012 MICA, Stewart-McMillan Artist in Residence, Baltimore, MD
2009-2010 Studio Museum in Harlem, Artist in Residence, New York, NY
2006-2008 Core Program, Artist in Residence, MFAH, Houston, TX
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2018 Notations Tiwani Contemporary
2014 Automythography The Dodd Contemporary Art Center, Athens, GA
2013 Mequitta Ahuja Thierry Golberg Gallery, New York, NY
2012 Mequitta Ahuja and Robert Pruitt Bakersfield Museum of
Art, Bakersfield, CA (2 person show)
2010 Trois Galerie Nathalie Obadia, Paris, France.
2010 Automythography II Arthouse, Austin, TX
2009 Automythography I BravinLee Programs, New York, NY
2008 Flowback Lawndale Art Center, Houston, TX
2007 Encounters BravinLee Programs, New York, NY
2005 Dancing on the Hide of Shere Khan 12X12, MCA, Chicago, IL
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2018 The Art World We Want, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
2017 American African American, Phillips, London
2017 Lucid Dreams and Distant Visions: Asian Society, NY
2017 Face to Face, California African American Museum, Los Angeles, CA
2017 Shifting David C. Driskell Center, College Park, Maryland
2016 Statements Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX
2016 Champagne Life Saatchi Gallery of Art, London, UK
2016 State of the Art Minneapolis Institute of Art & Telfair Museums
2015 Sondheim Finalist Exhibition Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore, MD
2014 State of the Art Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, AR
2014 Marks of Genius Minneapolis Institute of Art, MN
2013 Portraiture Now National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC
2013 War Baby/Love Child DePaul Art Museum, Chicago, IL
2012 The Bearden Project The Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY
2012 The Human Touch The Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, TX
2012 Red Maison Particuliere, Brussels, Belgium
2011 Collected:Ritual Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY
2011 Drawings for the New Century Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, MN
2010 Usable Pasts (Artists in Residence Exhibition Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY
2010Freedom to Expand Ulrich Museum of Art, Wichita, KS
2010 Body of Work (Women to Watch) National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC
2010 Art on Paper Weatherspoon Art Museum, Greensboro, North Carolina
2010 Until Now: Collecting the New (1960- 2010 Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, MN
2010 New Works for the Collection Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, TX
2009 Undercover Spelman College Museum of Fine Arts, Atlanta, GA
2009 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC
2008 Houston Collects Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Houston, TX
2007 Global Feminisms Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY
2007 Painters and Poets Ulrich Museum, Wichita, KS,
2006 Chimaera Tenri Cultural Institute of New York, NY
2006 New Art Event Ulrich Museum, Wichita, KS
2004 Baltimore/Chicago Maryland Institute College of Art, Curated by Kerry James Marshall, Baltimore, MD
INSTITUTIONAL COLLECTIONS
Blanton Museum of Art, Austin, TX
Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH
David C. Driskell Center, College Park, MD
Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Houston, TX
Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, MN
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Petrucci Family Foundation Collection of African American Art, Asbury, NJ
Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA
Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) Wealth Management
Saatchi Gallery, London, UK
Studio Museum in Harlem, New York, NY
Ulrich Museum, Wichita, KS
U.S. State Department, Mumbai Consulate, India
AWARDS
2013 Maryland Individual Artist Award
2011 Louis Comfort Tiffany Award
2009 Joan Mitchell Award
2008 Artadia Award, Houston
2008 Cornelia and Meredith Long Prize
2003 Chicago Civic Arts Foundation, First Place
2002 University of Illinois Diversity Fellowship
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
2014 Crystal Bridges State of the Art Don Bacigalupi and Chad Alligood (Forthcoming)
2014 Point of View: African American Art from the Elliot and Kimberly Perry Collection Tress II p.85
2013 Blanton Museum of Art 110 Favorites From the Collection Simone F. Wicha Parade p.108
2013 DePaul Art Museum War Baby Love Child Laura Kina and WeiMing Dariotis, Front cover, about, 197; Automythography, 17, 197, 198; Dream Region, 198-99, 259n1, plate 32; hybrid vision of self, 188; interview, 197-99; Spark, 4-5, 198-99, plate 1
2013 Callaloo: Arts and Letters of the African Diaspora Volume 36, Number 2, Cover: Royal Ease, Surge
2012 The Studio Museum in Harlem The Bearden Project Thelma Golden and Lauren Haynes, Epilogue p.35
2012 Art and Social Justice Education: Culture as Commons “Mequitta Ahuja: Afrogalaxy” Romi Crawford
2010 The Studio Museum in Harlem Re: Collection “Kerry James Marshall” essay by Mequitta Ahuja p.98
2009 Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Collecting African American Art Alvia Wardlaw Back cover, p. 90-91
2009 Callaloo: Arts and Letters of the African Diaspora Volume 32, Number 1, Off the Edge p.279
2007 Brooklyn Museum Global Feminisms Maura Reilly and Linda Nochlin, Bio p.267 Boogie Woogie p.169
2007 Ulrich Museum Poets and Painters Katie Geha, Tsunami Generation p.28. with poet Eric Baus p.29
SELECTED PRESS
ARTnews.com “101 Women Artists Who Got Wikipedia Pages This Week” Robin Cembalast, Feb 6, 2014
The Chicago Tribune ‘War Baby’ is Something to See if You Can Let Go” Lori Waxman, May 8, 2013
Gallerist NY “Mequitta Ahuja at Thierry Goldberg Gallery” Will Heinrich, Nov 26, 2013
Face to Face: (Smithsonian blog) “Beneath the Surface: An Unusual Installation” Warren Perry, April 26, 2013
Vocolo 90.7FM “War Baby/Love Child” Interview with Brian Babylon, May 16, 2013
The Washington Post Editor’s Picks: “In Fact There Is Fiction on Display” Michael O’Sulivan, Dec 7, 2013
The International Review of African American Art “Usable Pasts…” Cherilyn Wright, 23.1, 2010
The New Yorker “Usable Pasts” Vince Aletti, August 18, 2010
ARTnews “Artists to Watch: The Key to Her Locks” Rachel Wolff, February, 2010, p. 76-77
Houston Public Radio KUHF “The Front Row” Meghan Handley, Jan 6, 2009
Houston Chronicle “Artwork is a Reflection of its Audience” Douglas Britt, Jan 8, 2009, p.E2
The New York Times “Last Chance” Holland Cotter, June 1, 2007
Art News “We’re Finally Infiltrating” Phoebe Hoban, February, 2007, p.112
Modern Painters “VIVA” Carrie Moyer, March, 2007, p.77
ARTIST TALKS
Brooklyn Museum
Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
De Young Museum
Harvard University
Lawndale Art Center
Minneapolis Institute of Arts
Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (MCA)
Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA)
Northwestern University
Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery
Studio Museum in Harlem