“Out of Place follows the relationship between three characters: the body, the landscape, and the will to belong. How do the three interact with each other? How do they fill in each other’s silences?

While my ancestors spoke of, sang songs about, and recited poetry for their homeland in Punjab, my existence as a maker is inextricably tied to the land here in California. In my paintings, each ancestral figure navigates their own struggle to belong, feel at home, and take up space. My process creates belonging by finding and folding them into the landscape around me.

These paintings express how our bodies feel in or out of place within ever-shifting environments. As a mother, immigrant, and artist, I also intend to show glimpses of everyday life where doom and optimism hang in delicate balance. I created this work to highlight the human capacity to exist with hope, even on shaky ground.”

— Rupy C. Tut

As a descendent of Sikh Punjabi refugees and a first generation immigrant, Tut’s family history of movement, loss, and resilience is essential to her creative practice. She preserves historic methods of making pigments, creating intricate works inspired by traditional Indian painting while engaging critically with the gendered histories of her materials.

Out of Place includes Tut’s largest paintings yet and her first ever on linen, featuring new figures, postures, and landscapes. The ICA SF is committed to supporting our shared arts ecosystem in the Bay Area by inviting local artists to experiment and expand their practices in our entrance gallery.