Floor 3
Jeffrey E. Gundlach Building

How do we define home? The poet T. S. Eliot once wrote, “Home is where one starts from.” It is the foundation upon which we build our lives. The word can refer to a physical place where we live, but it can also symbolize stability, belonging, and connection rooted in family and community. Moreover, home can be a site where identities evolve and memories form. However, the world is fraught, and not everyone has shelter or feels safe and welcome where they live. While we all carry with us a place of origin, some people struggle to find a place to truly fit in, a place where they feel understood, valued, and safe from harm. 

The Light in the Window demonstrates the diverse ways contemporary artists engage with the topic of home. While some artists embody traditional notions of the subject, others engage with narratives of isolation, unease, and displacement. From Donna Dennis’s sculptural evocations of childhood family road trips to Do Ho Suh’s immersive explorations of memory and migration, the artists in this exhibition remind us that home is not always where we lay our heads. While others transform domestic spaces and familiar objects into thought-provoking metaphors that connect us to the shared experience of what it means to have a place in the world. As Pierce Brown penned in his 2015 novel Golden Son, “Home isn't where you're from, it's where you find light when all grows dark.”