{"id":312499,"date":"2026-03-04T11:51:14","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T11:51:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/312499\/"},"modified":"2026-03-04T11:51:14","modified_gmt":"2026-03-04T11:51:14","slug":"rendered-in-handmade-pigments-rupy-c-tuts-warriors-march-toward-belonging-colossal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/312499\/","title":{"rendered":"Rendered in Handmade Pigments, Rupy C. Tut’s Warriors March Toward Belonging \u2014 Colossal"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cWarriorhood is an act of living an awakened life,\u201d says Rupy C. Tut<\/a>, referencing the continual battles that emerge from being a person in the world. Tut has long invoked her family\u2019s history of migration and Punjabi heritage<\/a> to consider kinship, a theme that has more recently evolved into a recurring warrior character. \u201cThe privilege of belonging and being seen as a part of a place, without needing explanations, is not available to my characters, who are finding ways to navigate and battle that out-of-place-ness,\u201d she adds. <\/p>\n

Depicting suited figures floating amid translucent jellyfish, the dream-like \u201cBattle Ready\u201d is one such work. The creatures\u2019 tentacles trail across the composition, shrouding both the blue expanse and the subjects\u2019 limbs in their wispy lines. These patterns also offer insight into the emotional register of the piece. \u201cIf the environment is meant to assuage, then the character\u2019s bodysuit is chaotic distress,\u201d the artist tells Colossal. \u201cSimilarly, if the bodysuit is meant to pacify the narrative of the character\u2019s purpose, then the environment is lurking with dangers and chaotic, unsafe possibilities nearby.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>Detail of \u201cAwakened\u201d (2025), handmade pigments on linen, 24 x 36 inches. Photo by Phillip Maisel<\/p>\n

Tut is drawn to these kinds of metaphorical pairings, and her handmade pigments are another example. The artist assigns emotion and themes to each color that recur throughout her practice. \u201cYellow lead oxide predominantly signals a place or moment of struggle for my characters, whereas Cinnabar red deepens the earthiness of the conversation in the painting by rooting the story in blood and earth,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n

By limiting her palette, the artist has further constructed a world in which ideas evolve over time yet have a clear lineage to their forebears, adding, \u201cThis meaning-making is a way of indexing my thinking and making as well, where paintings from different times are placed in dialogue through this growing symbolism of color.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Tut, painting in this way is both therapeutic and devotional, particularly as she navigates life as a woman, mother, and artist continually struggling against stereotypes and convention. The slow act of creating pigments and working in the studio tethers her to something larger and excavates the voids she feels. <\/p>\n

It could be a significant childhood building you felt small and safe in, or a home that allowed you to dream freely, or a road trip lined by trees you no longer see, or values of slowing down, of being present, of being happy in nothingness yet striving for excellence, of history books that didn\u2019t cover your grandparents\u2019 trauma, or politics that don\u2019t notice nor praise the immigrant Indian girl wearing an American flag scarf in her senior pictures to prove her identity in a post 9\/11 world; these are all examples of voids I hope to fill through my work and in my practice of making paintings.\u00a0 <\/p>\n

This is also where the warrior returns. Tut sees this strong, fearless figure as representing \u201cresponsibility, honesty, justice, and a commitment to humility as an act of bravery,\u201d values that emerge in both her life and work. Whether rendering the swirling pattern of a figure\u2019s bodysuit or patiently waiting for a pigment to dry only to find the formula is wrong, the artist creates as both an homage to her ancestors and as a way to connect with people amid their own turmoil.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>\u201cHope for a Meeting (Wasl Ki Umeed)\u201d (2025), handmade pigments on linen, 48 x 48 x 2 inches. Photo by Chris Grunder<\/p>\n

Tut\u2019s work is currently on view at the Crocker Art Museum<\/a> in Sacramento and the National Portrait Gallery<\/a>. Later this week, she will also be included in a group exhibition opening at the Horton Art Gallery<\/a> at San Joaquin Delta College. Explore more of her practice on Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>\u201cHolding on to Hopes, Dreams and Desires\u201d (2025), handmade pigments on linen, 60 x 40 x 1 1\/4 inches. Photo by Phillip Maisel<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>\u201cMemories of a Mountain Ridge\u201d (2025), wool, cotton, acrylic, and polyester cotton, 79 3\/4 x 53 1\/4 x 2 1\/4 inches framed. Photo by Phillip Maisel<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>\u201cBattle Ready\u201d (2025), handmade pigments on linen, 72 x 60 x 2 inches. Photo by Phillip Maisel<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>Detail of \u201cTrade Offs of Love\u201d<\/p>\n

\"a<\/a>\u201cTrade Offs of Love\u201d (2025), handmade pigments on linen, 40 x 120 x 1 1\/4 inches. Photo by Phillip Maisel<\/p>\n

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