Thinkspace Projects is pleased to present the collector preview for Rupy Kaloti’s upcoming debut solo museum exhibition set to open this Saturday at the Oceanside Museum of Art in Oceanside, California. We are honored to be helping place the works from this special exhibition with collectors and are excited for you all to have a look.
All works are now available via our secure web shop.
RUPY KALOTI | @eyebeonit
‘The Gathering‘
On view September 26, 2026 – February 28, 2027
Taking place at:
Oceanside Museum of Art | @oceansidemuseum
704 Pier View Way
Oceanside, California 92054
The exhibition soft opens this weekend. Details on programming and special events to be shared, soon.
In her museum debut, Rupinder (Rupy) Kaloti presents ‘The Gathering,’ a vibrant, large-scale exploration of the Punjabi-American immigrant experience. Moving beyond familiar narratives of immigrant struggle, the work imagines a vivid world that appears after hardship has passed.
This work explores the esoteric belief that a soul deliberately chooses its family. The artist depicts this choice as an act of cosmic intention. In this framing, the immigrant family is not defined by struggle alone but understood as a sacred destination chosen for its strength, traditions, and rituals. Motifs of a rainbow and a guiding star serve as visual metaphors for the soul’s journey toward its chosen home.
Central to this new series is a personal mythology. The figure of a tiger is a direct homage to the artist’s grandmother named after the goddess Durga and serves as a sentinel within the work. The tiger represents the fierce and protective energy required to build a home in a new land, transforming a domestic space into a site of spiritual power.
This personal mythology emerges from the geography of the artist’s life, spanning East Side San José, California, and Punjab, India. Often described as the city’s grittier margins, East San José forms a striking counterpoint to the landscapes of Punjab. Interlocking panels within the paintings depict scenes from both landscapes, layering memory and place. By painting her subjects inthese two distinct environments, Kaloti reflects the dual realities of the immigrant experience.
Throughout the exhibition, imagery of fire appears within otherwise joyful landscapes. Rather than signaling destruction, the flames suggest transformation. The house endures the blaze and emerges illuminated, a testament to resilience and survival.
Rupy Kaloti’s practice is rooted in a meticulous, physical process. Painting on custom, hand-made wood panel cut-outs, she breaks the traditional rectangular window of Western art to create objects that feel like architectural fragments or altars.
The colors of the paintings are highly saturated hues drawn from the memory of Indian textiles such as saris, phulkari, and the festive brilliance of Punjabi celebrations. These colors are not merely decorative but instead bring visibility to a history often overlooked.
‘The Gathering‘ is an exhibition that honors Rupy’s ancestors by refusing to leave them in the dark, choosing instead to bathe their legacy in the light of joyous ritual.
Artist Bio:
Rupy Kaloti is a Punjabi-American visual artist whose work reimagines the immigrant experience through the lens of joy as a spiritual ritual. Kaloti paints on handmade, custom-cut wood panels that function as architectural fragments and modern altars. Her practice utilizes a high-saturation palette, informed by the vivid textiles of her Punjabi heritage. She holds an MFA from the Laguna College of Art and Design and continues to explore the intersections of ancestry, survival, and the sacred within her studio practice.
Thinkspace Projects will be helping Rupy handle the backend of this exhibition and place works with collectors. Please shoot us an email to contact@thinkspaceprojects.com if you’d like to see the catalog of available works from this special museum exhibition.
