“The narrative around land and belonging has evolved into a less nuanced and more divisive one in the mainstream political spaces. However, at the level of the individual, it still revolves around being able to exist and perform individual choices, including cultural and personal beliefs, in a safe space. For me, the narrative centers on being able to exist in a place with my own depiction and display of what it means to thrive in a place and not just survive. It is this notion of how I see us thriving here or in any place that I bring into focus in this public project.

The main character here is the audience who can find themselves immersed in a layered landscape moving from a swaying and joyful forest down to pink mountain ridges and even further onto a red sandy beach with light blue waters. A subtle display of a blanket with foods that I would bring to a beach picnic adds to the narrative of relating and being in this place the way I know how to be. Being among the differently shaped leaves of the forest, or steep pink mountain ridges, is personal to us all. While I might bring samosas to the beach along with a thermos full of Cha (tea), you might bring coffee and croissants. Our difference in the way we relate and exist is the richness of this landscape and it is evident in our daily and almost hourly ways of existing and making choices. I am hoping it’s these daily and hourly choices we make that highlight our sense of community rather than the larger political and social dialogues we might or might not have made up our minds about. Whether the mountains seem golden green to you or pink, I hope we can agree we yearn to see more than what is visible or told to us.” – Rupy C. Tut

Rupy C. Tut migrated from India to the U.S. at age 12, an experience reflective of that of her Sikh ancestors, who were repeatedly uprooted and transplanted. As both an environmentalist and Indian-American woman, she never takes place for granted. Tut’s paintings depict lush natural territories, often graced by feminine figures. The works variously suggest idyllic paradises, the confinements of gender, and fears of climate disaster. Tut uses her mastery of traditional Indian painting to take ownership of the dominant patriarchal narratives and modes of making. As she explains, “I question traditional roles and labels while preserving traditional practices.”

Tut (b. 1985, Chandigarh, India) has a BS in Evolutionary and Ecological Biology from UCLA and an MPH from Loma Linda University, CA. She studied traditional Indian painting for eight years, including time at King’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts in London. Tut has enjoyed solo exhibitions at SFMOMA, CA; ICA San Francisco; Crown Point Press, SF; and Triton Museum of Art, Santa Clara, CA. Her work is in the permanent collections of SFMOMA, CA; de Young Museum, SF; Asian Art Museum, SF; Crocker Art Museum, SF, and Cantor Arts Center, Palo Alto, CA, among others. She has been featured in group exhibitions at the Asian Art Museum, SF; Phoenix Art Museum, AZ; Fowler Art Museum, Los Angeles; Kala Art Institute, Berkeley and Eiteljorg Museum, Indianapolis, among others. Tut was a 2024 recipient of SFMOMA’s SECA Art Award, as well as the Joan Mitchell Foundation Fellowship. She is included in “Making Moves: A Collection of Feminisms” at Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento (November 2, 2025–May 3, 2026) and the “Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition” at National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C. Tut has been chosen by Arion Press to create paintings that illustrate their hand-crafted, limited edition letterpress version of Alice in Wonderland. She lives and works in Oakland, CA and is represented by Jessica Silverman, San Francisco.