The “The Eighth Color” by Rupy C. Tut, is a solo exhibition of paintings on linen and handmade paper that explores cultural history, feminine agency, and ecological dreamlands. A polyglot who speaks English, Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, and Spanish, Tut is not just an innovative painter but also an ambitious mythologist whose works depict alternative legends that point toward nobler futures. Her female figures demand attention and cultural authority. Her landscapes are environmental havens—both sanctuaries and sacred spaces—that offer themselves as potential destinations. Having spent 8 years studying the Himalayan tradition of miniature painting, Tut creates works featuring both significant detail and contemporary American “wall power.”

Rupy C. 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– December 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.