Artist Spotlight: Kuzana Ogg

Kuzana Ogg was an artist in residence at Brown Pink last month. Born in Bombay, 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 her grandmother’s exquisite Worli residence on the coast. Along with her family, Kuzana immigrated first to England, and then to New York. As an art student at SUNY Purchase, Kuzana met her husband. They married in 1995, and moved to South Korea, spending six years teaching English in Kyung Ju.

Kuzana has participated in residencies in Minnesota, Sri Lanka, China, Scotland Latvia, and Iceland. In 2021, Kuzana completed a 4 year residency at El Zaguan on Canyon Road, and moved to Los Alamos. Her paintings have been included on the sets of television shows and feature films — the most recent of which are Sprung, Bloodline, Where’d You Go Bernadette, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, Southpaw, and My All-American. She has exhibited internationally and had solo exhibitions at the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art and the Bakersfield Museum of Art.

The principles that govern Kuzana’s aesthetic are balance and restraint and she draws her visual language from the “general pandemonium” of her childhood in early 1970s Bombay. As she notes in her artist statement, “Bombay is steeped in perfume—from yards of jasmine and roses garlanding doors, to sandalwood burning at the fire temple, to a hundred different lunches cooking at the same time—there is always fragrance in the air...Its presence everywhere instilled the conviction in me that just as fragrance occupies a stratum deeper than sight or sound, majesty is also hidden beneath the surface of things, and majesty is an anchor that restrains and balances the chaos of experience. It is the primordial root that underlies even the most discordant things.” 

Composite portrait of artist Kuzana Ogg with the train that goes by R&F factory.

Please tell us a little bit about your experience as an artist in residence at Brown Pink. What were you planning to work on and how did that change when you got there?

I hoped to work with Pigment Sticks® to develop and incorporate gestural marks to my work. I soon realized that the paper and collages I brought to use as substrates were far too small to even begin fully expressing the capabilities of the Pigment Sticks®.

Were you able to experiment with new materials?

I ended up taping several sheets of paper together to make larger sheets, and I also used Pigment Sticks® on tracing paper. The second had an ethereal quality as the paper was so delicate in comparison to the heavy luscious quality of the oil on its surface.

I had the pleasure of meeting Leslie Giuliani who generously gave me a refresher lesson on encaustic. I used the previously collaged work on Khadi paper I’d brought with me, as substrates for some experimental encaustic work on paper.

Do you see yourself continuing to use these for future projects? Any breakthroughs in terms of your own work? 

Yes! In addition to the mark making capabilities of Pigment Sticks®, their unique color composition lends itself to a more sophisticated layering of color. I have started using them in my new work already. I’ve blotted and scrubbed them off the canvas in some parts, leaving stains of mysterious color.

Can you share a highlight of your residency? What makes doing a residency a worthwhile experience for an artist?

I very much enjoyed meeting the owners and founders of R&F, and hearing them talk about paint and the origins of certain colors. The factory and the paintmakers were fascinating to watch as well. The colors are so scrumptious as they are milled. I don’t know how people resist just having a tiny taste, as they work on them!

Did you bring reading materials to support your residency or take advantage of the many galleries and museums in the Hudson River Valley?

I visited the DIA Beacon which was gorgeous! I also went for several walks around Kingston’s varied neighborhoods. The Victorian houses, sprawling gardens, river views, and presence of the cargo train were a picturesque experience...I imagine they will find their way into my paintings too. The grey skies and frequent rain was also particularly thrilling for me as a desert dweller.

Why is solitude so necessary for artists? 

When you’re alone in studio; nothing matters other than the materials and process.

Anything else you'd like to share?

 The kind generosity of R&F is evident in the beautiful Brown Pink home/studio, and the welcoming nature of everyone at the factory, made this residency truly special. Thank you.

To see additional images of Kuzana’s work, visit kuzanaogg.com. You can also follow her on Instagram @kuzanaogg.