VISUAL DISPATCH, VOLUME 11:

From Pain to Canvas: How Transforming Trauma into Art Can Heal and Inspire

Ruby/Dakota is thrilled to unveil  *Home is You, Right Now*, a debut group exhibition that brings together a roster of seventeen 21st-century artists, including Sacha Alexandra, Hannah Epstein, Jack Albrittain, and many others. This innovative showcase explores the deeply personal and universal quest for home, inspired by the gallerist’s own emotional journey symbolized by the evocative image of an empty house. Each work in this exhibition addresses the intricate dance between our conscious and unconscious selves, reflecting on the magnetic pull toward homecoming and the timeless struggle between the innocence of childhood and the complexities of adulthood. As someone who has faced the raw edges of trauma, gallerist Hannah Studnick found profound meaning in transforming personal pain into art—a process of alchemy that turns suffering into a positive force. In our conversation with Hannah, also the curator for the exhibition, we delve deeper into how this exhibition not only mirrors these transformative experiences but also invites viewers to confront and embrace their own paths to healing:

What sparked your own search for home? 

Losing my twin sister at 25. Turning 30. Leaving New York, coming back, leaving again, coming back. Feeling invisible in the ways I wanted to be seen. I feel proud to be from New York, and for all the things my parents did with the little they began with. Home is the foundation of everything, but it’s also just an idea. You are your own soft landing spot. 

How do you believe this metaphor of an empty house influences the way the artworks reflect our search for identity and the concept of ‘home’? What does this symbolic empty house represent to you? 

I think it can be really easy to feel lonely. The work and act of making the work is what fills the space. So many sick people are artists without access to a practice, in my opinion. A lot of the work in this first show to me is about the maddening isolation of childhood, being introverted in your room, too smart for your own good, but also imagining all the ways you will one day escape. I’ve really enjoyed sitting with this show. I find so much of the work very brave. 

I worked with a brilliant writer and somatic therapist, Rachel Nagelberg, to write this press release. She lives and works in Los Angeles, a place I managed to live for some time. It felt very full circle to have Rachel offer her thoughts on this show, a person I have looked to so many times for my own courage. 

The show was originally going to be called “Home is Wherever You Are Right Now.” Rachel shortened it. I told her I liked the new title because it worked both ways, the co-dependant way and the non. She said it hadn’t occurred to her that we were talking about a person. Aren’t we? 

Jack Albrittain 
Painter’s Studio II 
Distemper and oil on linen18” x 25” 2024

In what ways do contemporary self-portraits navigate between childhood and adulthood, and how do they affect our understanding of identity and nostalgia?

Everything is a self portrait, in some ways.  The inclination towards nostalgia and rumination remains strong in a world where the current news cycle is mostly devastating. A work of art can tap into something true about the lived experience in a different way than any other media, in a way that doesn’t feel so accosting. I believe it is our most important historical archive. It is gentle to consume, and a good piece of art can soothe. It is the ugliest version of yourself made very easy to live with. 

Hannah Epstein 

Somebody Stop Her! 

Acrylic, Wool, Burlap, Cotton 26” x 31” 2023

How does the concept of ‘homecoming’ reflect personal growth and the process of moving beyond one’s past?

We are all looking for something, and none of us are safe! It’s comical really, how long it took me to discover something I already knew. The reality of home is about getting out of your own way, making your own path. I think of Home as a rumination of the past and of the self. Something to leave and ultimately let go of. The imprint of our circumstances will always be there, and it is also up to us to weave our own narrative.

What does the exhibition suggest about the impact of immersing oneself in another’s experience, and what does this reveal about the boundaries between self and other?

For a long time I learned to be very co-dependent, being raised with a twin, and in a family that celebrated sharing, in everything. It can be so much more painful that way. The line between empathy and martyrdom is thin. 

With the opening of Ruby/Dakota, and the ongoing deeply personal programming within, I am so grateful for all the opportunity to boundlessly connect.  

Please join us for the closing reception of Home is You, Right Now on Friday, September 6, 2024. 6-8 pm. 

Our following exhibition, Jack Albrittain’s 6’ Poems opens on September 12, 2024 with an opening reception in the gallery. 6-8 pm. 

Tova Carlin
Details of Two Pieces

Kariny Padilla 
what if heaven is right here? 
Oil on canvas 12″ x 12″, 12″ x 16″,  24″ x 36″, 11″ x 14″ 2024

Xingyun Wang
Dwelling Places 7

Isis Davis-Marks

Medications List

Written by: Ketia Jeune