February 8 – March 15, 2025

Rusha & Co. is excited to present Are We Here Yet?, the second solo exhibition of Hannah Lupton Reinhard with the gallery. This new body of work continues her exploration of displacement, diaspora, and the weight of inherited identity. The hyper-feminine figures in these paintings bear the burdens of both physical and spiritual journeys, exploring the complexities of memory and belonging.

At the heart of the exhibition, Allegory of Sin and Repair confronts the paradox of creation amidst destruction. In the painting, two girls in swimsuits and head scarves build a gilded sandcastle while a beach house burns behind them. Although begun during the summer of 2024 as a reflection on war, climate change and the destruction of the earth, the work became even more urgent as fires ravaged Los Angeles in January 2025. Through this piece, Lupton Reinhard reflects on the Jewish responsibility of Tikkun Olam—repairing the world—a task that is not just personal but collective, and not only Jewish but human.

The figures in Lupton Reinhard’s oil paintings embark on a physical journey, much like the Jewish people crossing the desert in the story of Exodus. These women traverse rivers and seas, perhaps seeking a destination, or perhaps wandering indefinitely. One carries a picnic basket on her head from which spirits of loved ones spill, signifying both physical and spiritual baggage. Another rests on the earth, overtaken by exhaustion, while a third pauses at the edge of a cliff to light Shabbat candles, embodying Lupton Reinhard’s belief in adapting Judaism to daily life. 

Lupton Reinhard’s signature layering process begins with oil paint applied like watercolor—staining the surface with pigment and building luminous transparencies before being subtracted and re-added. This layering creates swirling microcosms of skin and texture, with figures adorned in stylized hair and opulent textiles that shimmer beneath the weight of Swarovski crystals. These embellishments serve as both decoration and distortion, armoring the figures against the world. 

In both the larger works and intimate drawings, patterned head scarves represent Yiddishkeit, a key episode in the exilic experience. This Ashkenazi babushka accessory evokes a pre-war shtetl, “fiddler on the roof” sensibility, offering a fantasmatic alternative to modern Jewish identity. The women feel timeless–with simultaneous visual references to the old world and to contemporary culture, connected by the subtle tactility of jewelry and fabric. They don’t quite exist in our cultural space, yet they always feel familiar. They may shroud themselves in old-world modesty, but they never devolve into relics of the past. 

For the first time, Lupton Reinhard expands beyond canvas, introducing mixed-media drawings set in hand-embellished wood frames. These intricate works combine paint, crystals, and enamel medallions—heirlooms crafted by her grandmother, a jeweler. Additionally, four small paintings sample details from the larger works. Resting within ceramic frames, they offer a moment of intimacy, fragility and play. 

Lupton Reinhard’s work embraces the fluid, interwoven nature of identity, echoing philosopher Judith Butler’s view that cohabitation—living among and alongside others—is central to Jewishness itself. The paintings, which depict both Jewish and non-Jewish women in the artist’s life, reject the notion of insularity in favor of a more expansive belonging. The beauty of diaspora lies in coexistence—not in spite of difference, but because of it. In these works, community is not bound by bloodline or borders but is instead built through intimacy and shared histories.

Artworks

Installation Views