For their latest solo exhibition, Restless Node in a Quiet Net, Arohi Ranade explores the visual and symbolic interconnections within a curated subset of their hand-made digital & analog artworks. The installation is composed of abstract and colorful mixed media works and will be on view from September 18 – November 17, at the East Corridor Gallery in Sabine Street Studios. The artist will be present to give an artist talk at the opening reception on September 30, from 5-7pm. The installation emerged from a cyclical process that is Arohi’s intuitive art practice. First, they capture photos, deconstruct images, and find a node (node an image, symbol, or sign that appears on the visible surface of a canvas or fabric). Second, they assemble collages, manifest reproductions, and adorn nodes with paint, thread, ink, and ash. Third, they draw lines of thread between the restless nodes and lift the veil of shadow off of the quiet net (net an assemblage of many nodes that is interconnected by a line of thread). For the artist, this unveiling is a gentle, yet complex process of self-inquiry and for the viewers, it is a strong yet subtle appearance of colors, lines, forms, shapes, symbols, and stories.
Arohi Ranade (b. 1996) is a contemporary installation artist whose destructive/creative practice incorporates both digital and analog art-making techniques. In 2020, they received their B.A. in Studio Art and B.S. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of Texas in Austin. Their art practice is an image compression system that eats away at the artist’s personal repository of digital photographs, memories, images, and documentation. The final assemblage / photomontage is reproduced on canvas or fabric and all digital files are deleted and laid to rest. Arohi incorporates analog techniques such as painting, drawing, and embroidering to highlight the recurring symbols and images in their art.
Restless Node in a Quiet Net by Arohi Ranade at East Corridor Gallery, or ECG, is part of an annual art exhibition project that celebrates the line as an essential conceptual element in the visual arts. Funded in part by the city of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance.