Chiraag Bhakta is a multidisciplinary artist whose practice is rooted in collecting objects, archival research, storytelling and collaboration in a variety of media including: printmaking, collage, photography and assemblage.
Raised in an independent motel on a New Jersey freeway surrounded by a rotation of extended family, Bhakta received his BFA in Graphic Design from the Hartford Art School in 1999. While working as a graphic designer, he has been exploring his own work, initially under the pseudonym *Pardon My Hindi. A lot of his work unveils the history, legacies, and ongoing impact of western imperialism in our everyday lives, as well as diving into the struggles of South Asians—both within their homelands and the diaspora. Some of his work also challenges the ways that traditional anthropology, history, and institutions tell these very stories.
Chiraag was recently awarded the inaugural 2022-23 Whitney Artist-in-Residence at the Hartford Art School in Connecticut for the academic year with a solo exhibition at Joseloff Gallery, Designing The Dream State.
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Education
1999 BFA Graphic Design, Hartford Art School, University of Hartford, CT
Solo and Collaborative Exhibitions
2023 Designing the Dream State | Joseloff Gallery, Hartford, CT
2023 Prism 1965 | in collaboration with Vijay Iyer & Wadada Leo Smith | Millard Auditorium, Hartford, CT
2022 Why You So Negative? | Handwerker Gallery, Ithaca College, NY
2022 Visions and Nightmares | ThisOnly | Handwerker Gallery, Ithaca College, NY
2021 Visions and Nightmares | ThisOnly | NADA House, Governors Island, NY | Rawson Projects
2019 Why You So Negative? | Human Resources LA, Los Angeles, CA
Selected Group Exhibitions
2023 City of Faith | Museum of the City of NY, New York, NY
2021 Visions and Nightmares | ThisOnly | Simone Subal Gallery, New York, NY
2019 The Nude Show | The Museum of Human Achievement, Austin, TX
2019 Jagah // Jadoo | Mission Cultural Center, San Francisco, CA
2018 Spirited Probabilities | Southern Exposure, San Francisco, CA
2018 Thought Bubble | Aicon Gallery, New York, NY
2018 Indernet | Kunsthaus Rhenania, Cologne, Germany
2017 Mind Control | Alter Space, San Francisco, CA
2017 Window Winnipeg | Artspace, Winnipeg, Canada
2016 Where We Belong: Artists in the Archive | SAADA, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
2015 Visualizing our Americana | The Gateway Project, Newark, NJ
2015 Eat Pray Thug | Aicon Gallery, New York, NY
2015 (Im)materiel | Headlands Center for the Arts, Sausalito, CA
2014 Beyond Bollywood | Smithsonian, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC
2014 Yoga: The Art of Transformation | The Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, CA
2013 Blues For Smoke | Whitney Museum, New York, NY
2012 Southern Machine Exposure Project, Machine Project (LA) Southern Exposure (SF)
Collaborations
2021 ThisOnly x BkM, Human Crop | Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY
2019 Rouge | Nikhil Chopra | Human Resource, Los Angeles
2018 The What of The World | Vijay Iyer | The Kitchen, New York, NY
2018 Home of the Brave | Vijay Iyer Residency | SFJAZZ, San Francisco, CA
2017 Land of the Free | Vijay Iyer Residency | SFJAZZ, San Francisco, CA | Ojai Music Festival, Ojai, CA
Spaces
2009 Rolly’s Garage, Toronto, Canada | G, Currylingus, K-Rock, Koushik (Stones Throw)
2006 Clinton Street, New York, NY | D.D.P., Mahssa (Finders Keepers)
2006 Royal Bangladesh, New York, NY | D.D.P., Koushik (Stones Throw)
Extra
2018 See To Day, Colpa Press | NY Art Book Fair / SF Art Book Fair
2018 Legacy | Theater of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
Awards & Grants
2022-23 Whitney Artist In Residence, Hartford Art School
2019 Foundation for Contemporary Arts, Grant
2018 San Francisco Arts Commission, Individual Artist Grant
2016 The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, Grant
Selected Talks/Panels
2023 Hartford Art School, “Whose Dream Are We Living?” panel moderated by Anuradha Vikram
2022 Hartford Art School, Silpe Gallery, Artist Talk moderated by Billie Lee
2022 Handwerker Gallery, Ithaca College Artist Talk with Vivek Boray
2017 New York University, NY, Artist Talk
2017 Queens Museum, Queens, NY — Fatal Love: Where Are We Now?
2017 Historical Society of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA — SAADA
2016 San Francisco State University, Artist Talk
2015 California College of the Arts, San Francisco, CA, Artist Talk
2014 University of California, Berkeley, CA
2014 The Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, CA, Artist Talk
2013 Bohlin Cywinski Jackson, San Francisco, CA, Artist Talk
Selected Publications
2022 Moving Focus, India- New Perspectives on Modern & Contemporary Art, ACC Art Books, Mortimer Chatterjee
2019 Why You So Negative? , Mother Jones, Chiraag Bhakta
2016 Asian American History: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, Madeline Y. Hsu
2015 Telling global stories, one at a time: The politics and poetics of exhibiting Asian art, Chang Tan / Penn State University
2014 Our Complicity With Excess, By Vijay Iyer @ Yale University
Selected Press
2022 The Irregular Times: “In The Studio with Chiraag Bhakta”, Jan 02
2020 Far-Near: On Institutional Racism in the Arts: A Conversation with Chiraag Bhakta, Sept. 01
2020 FN—Newsletter: Colonization, Commodification and the Rise of Yoga™, Sept. 02
2020 New York Times: Asian Art Museum to Remove Bust of Patron, Jun 15
2020 CARLA: Chiraag Bhakta at Human Resources, Mar 30
2018 Al Jazeera: Why Americans Are So Obsessed With Yoga, Mar 25
2018 Pop-Up Magazine: Home Of The Brave, Jun 12
2018 Verve Magazine: Pop Goes The Bhakta, May 24
2017 SAADA: A conversation with Chiraag Bhakta, Mar 23
2017 Juxtapoz: The Arch Motel Project, Feb 27
2016 The Wire: How the Indian Diaspora Is Shaping the Battle for Yoga's Soul, Jul 20
2014 Caravan: An exhibition on Indian Americans strives to present the community’s story on its own terms, April 30
2014 Smithsonian Magazine: How Motel Ownership Offers Indian-Americans a Gateway to the American Dream, Feb 27
Addition Press: The Aerogram, SF Chronicle, The Wall Street Journal, BBC News, The Washington Post, Grain Edit,
Animal NY, Daily Pao, Bold Italic, HypeBeast, SF Guardian, Quartz India