Culture House presents Soumiya Krishnaswamy, Be(Longing). The exhibition is on view from March 18 to May 6, 2023, and is open each Saturday from 11 am – 2 pm. No appointments are required. The artist will be present to meet with visitors during the opening reception on Saturday, March 18, from 2-5 pm. Additional programming will be announced throughout the exhibition. 

Be(Longing) is a collection comprised primarily of work made during the pandemic, a time of disconnectedness and oddity for all. We redesigned how we lived and found connection and communication in new ways, through screens, a meter apart, intimate but not close. As we have come out into the world again, how intimate are these relationships we have built, how strong are the bonds, and how close have we truly become? We have discovered more about what we have in common, yet we have simultaneously forged deeper divides. We continue to strive for intimacy, connection, and community while time marches on, and despite the accumulation of losses and recognition of what we share, we oft remain with spaces between us. There is always room for "Potential." There is always a community waiting for us to join if we can see how we connect and find a common language, one that is beyond words.

"I was born in the US as a child of immigrants in the 70s. I never fit into either homeland, despite being connected to both. Feeling like an outsider, Othered, I sought a way in and a place to belong. That dive into human existence and connection drives my work. The linguistics of mark-making seemed to cross time and space, allowing me to find intersectional communication beyond conventional language.  I research any essential marks from cave paintings to Indian kolam to children's drawings. I draw upon the most poignant symbols to provoke responses and tell stories through paint or whatever I may find. I am particularly interested in how much of the work is made by women, from the depths of the caves to the weavers on the mountains to the kolam on the front stoop, be it documentation, meditation, or decoration. Symbols that have unlimited potential and work in repetition are the most interesting, as they create rhythm and become More." —Soumiya Krishnaswamy

Join us Saturday, March 18, from 2-5 pm to meet the artist and explore the exhibition.

About the Artist

Soumiya Lakshmi Krishnaswamy (1975, USA) earned a Bachelor's in Fine Arts from Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts, and a Master's in Fine Arts from the American University in Washington, DC. She attended residency programs in Italy and Greece. She has exhibited her work, paintings, and installations, in the United States and Europe, from New York to Washington DC, Seattle, and Miami. She has been reviewed and awarded by critics such as Lucy Lippard and Jerry Saltz. She currently resides in Brooklyn but ensures her passport always gets stamps.

The gallery is open to the public March 18 to May 6, 2023 on Saturdays from 11 am – 2 pm and by appointment.