In an article by Mary Corbin in 48 Hills (October 2023), Oakland-based artist Rupy C. Tut (b. 1985, Chandigarh, India) is quoted as saying that she “… [is] guided by understanding the complexities of self, of home, and of searching for a place where I can belong as an immigrant, as a woman, as a mother, and as a citizen of this planet.” To this end, Tut creates densely colorful figurative paintings in her Oakland studio. She is influenced by 18th century traditional Indian painting and trained in the technique of that period, and her paintings reflect social and contemporary issues of motherhood, feminism, patriarchy, identity and the environment. She transfers line drawings onto hemp paper or linen and handcrafts paint from pigments to add color to the imagery. In 2024 Tut worked for the first time in intaglio, spending two weeks in the Crown Point studio.
Earlier in her practice, Tut’s work reflected on systems of oppression that are universally experienced, individually and collectively. Her new work, including the print project at Crown Point, reflects a movement towards a more personal and interior introspection. The imagery of the new prints is representative of this new approach. In all but one of the images, a single figure is the focal point, which Tut uses both literally and figuratively to examine the relational aspects of space and place to the individual.
Rupy C. Tut received a B.S. from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 2006 and a M.P.H from Loma Linda University in 2009. In 2016 she studied calligraphy and traditional Indian painting at Prince’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts, London. She has had solo exhibitions at the Peel Art Gallery, Museum and Archives, Ontario, Canada; ICA San Francisco; Jessica Silverman, San Francisco; and the Triton Museum of Art, Santa Clara. Her work has been included in group exhibitions at the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco; the Fowler Museum, University of California, Los Angeles; Kala Institute, Berkeley; and the Eiteljorg Museum, Indianapolis. She received the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s SECA Art Award and a Joan Mitchell Fellowship in 2024, and in December 2024 the SFMOMA will present a solo exhibition of her work.
Tut’s work is held in the permanent collections of the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco; the Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento; the de Young Museum, San Francisco; the SFMOMA; and the Eiteljorg Museum, Indianapolis. Rupy C. Tut is represented by Jessica Silverman, San Francisco.
