Kodandi Nithyananda
pronouns: any/all
Bio:
Kodandi Nithyananda is a multi-dimensional, multi-media artist whose work touches themes of the body as ephemera, esoteric landscape, and spatial interiority. The artist’s work comes from a meditative space and is informed by life in an ashram and time spent as a monk. 
The artist studied traditional material forms of sculpture at California College of the Arts, focusing on metal working, welding and bronze casting. Kodandi now works primarily in digital media and machine knitting. The artist received their MFA in Visual Arts from Maharishi International University.  The artist also hold a BA from Mills College, in anthropology and sociology, and cross cultural communication study at Tokyo University of Foreign Studies in Tokyo, Japan.

Artist Statement:
I use reclaimed materials, and technology that is old, discarded and obsolete. I see the unsustainable obsolescence of functional older technologies, and prioritize reclaimed, recycled, and secondhand sources. Accessing data from obsolete software and connecting old hardware to new hardware is an extreme exercise in impermanence,
fleeting physical states, and letting go.
I am interested in the process of moving through dimensions, from a point to line to two-dimensional shape and three-dimensional shape and beyond. Unraveling, or “frogging” in knitting terminology, is a fundamental part of the knitting process. A knitted piece can be completely frogged and returned to its original form in a ball of yarn. The yarn will be
changed in the process, but it is still in essence a ball of yarn. The journey of the yarn from line through a two-dimensional pattern to three-dimensional constructed piece that exists in a four-dimensional space is exciting for me. I feel that this is a spiritual process that reflects my experience in meditation and Hindu ritual.
Knitted fabric feels like a nexus between body and landscape. I use garment making techniques to make sculptural objects. Knitting is a representation of my body as well as a landscape. I am now working with my own medical imagery and biofeedback data. Digital technology has made it very easy to access these secret inner worlds of the body and
make them visible. This data is now feeding my digital art and determines the speed and layout of my animations.
With gratitude to my guru, Bhagawan Sri Nithyananda Paramashivam.
Education:
2026: MFA, Visual Arts, Maharishi International University, Fairfield, Iowa, USA
2016: Fine Arts - Sculpture, California College of the Arts, Oakland, California, USA
2005: BA, Anthropology & Sociology, Mills College, Oakland, California, USA
2001: Semester Abroad, Cross-Cultural Communication, 東京外国語大学, Tokyo, Japan
Exhibitions:
2025: And Still It Remains: A Long COVID Exhibition, Artworks Center for Contemporary Art, Loveland Colorado
2025: Women's History Month Tiny Art Show, San Leandro Public Library, San Leandro California
2023: Way Out West, Sierra Wind Wellness and Recovery Center, Jackson, California
2021: Long COVID: We Are Here!, Relational Space Gallery, New York, NY, VR gallery https://longcovidwearehere.com/
2017: The Mannequin Show, 5701 Telegraph Art Gallery, Oakland California
2017: The Art of Planetary Science, University of Arizona Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, Tuscon Arizona

Projects & Professional Experience:
2025: Curator at Hairetics Hair Salon, San Francisco, California
2021-2024: Council Member of HypeDAO Artist Collective 
2018: C Project Visitor Guide for "Romantic Songs of the Patriarchy" with artist Ragnar Kjartansson 
2018: High School Art Teacher, Nithyananda Gurukul, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India 
2014: Community Arts Fellow, Lifelong Medical Care, Oakland, California
2010: Video Producer and Editor, Community TV Show: Fabled: Stories of Disabled Lesbians 

Residencies:
Please see my LinkedIn profile for my most up to date and complete resume, skills, and experience




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