Liberty Enlightening the World: Artists of the American Beacon

Seven artists interrogate the “light of resistance” and the evolving definition of Americanness in a multidisciplinary exploration of the American ideal

Patricia Sweetow Gallery’s new exhibit “Liberté éclairant le monde: Liberty Enlightening the World,” Part 2 of their Summer 2026 series, runs from July 18 through August 22, 2026, at the gallery’s location on South Santa Fe Avenue in Los Angeles. With themes invoking the dual history of the American beacon, the exhibition finds primary inspiration in the writings of Emma Goldman. A political exile from Russia who arrived in America in 1885, Goldman wrote in her memoir of the same title: “She held her torch high to light the way to the free country, the asylum for the oppressed of all lands”. This vision of a free country is famously echoed in Emma Lazarus’s sonnet, The New Colossus, which welcomed the huddled masses to a golden door. 

However, the exhibition reminds us that the statue was erected during a time of profound racial and economic divides that primarily served the “privileged few”. This “embattled beacon of hope” has historically stood in stark contrast to a reality of enslavement, the internment of Japanese-American citizens, and the eradication of Native American nations. The power of this exhibit lies in its refusal to let a single voice define the American experience. Instead, it amplifies a chorus of artists whose work explores the gap between historical atrocities and the “highest ideals” of strength, courage, and compassion. By doing so, they show us not only who we have been, but all that we could be.

The Beacon and the Shadow

The exhibition title, “Liberté éclairant le monde: Liberty Enlightening the World,” invokes the dual history of the American beacon. While Emma Lazarus’s famous sonnet welcomed the “huddled masses,” the gallery reminds us that the statue was erected during a time of profound racial and economic divides. This “embattled beacon of hope” has historically stood in stark contrast to a reality of enslavement, the internment of Japanese-American citizens, and the eradication of Native American nations. The power of this exhibit lies in its refusal to let a single voice define the American experience, instead amplifying a chorus of artists whose “sacrifices, hopes, and dreams persist in shaping the future of this country”.

A Multidisciplinary Resistance

The featured artists use diverse mediums; from beadwork and traditional basketry to layered oil paintings—to explore identity and the negotiation of “Americanness.” Much of this work addresses the psychological weight of history and displacement. Lien Truong, who was airlifted out of Vietnam as a toddler, creates multi-layered paintings that metaphorically trace her matriarchal lineage and the trauma of immigration during war. This sense of struggle finds a parallel in the work of Taraneh Hemami, whose practice centers on the tension between Iran and America. Hemami uses her art to declaim state violence and the “grieving, loss, and erasure” that often accompany the immigrant experience. For Sanjay Vora, who grew up in rural New Jersey, identity is not a fixed state but an ongoing negotiation between his Indian heritage and American upbringing, a balance of “ancestry, place, nostalgia, and mortality”.

The exhibition also examines how identity is viewed and packaged in the modern world. Preetika Rajgariah, an Indian-born, Texas-raised artist, uses their multidisciplinary practice to consider how culture is often commercialized for public consumption. Their work explores the contradictions between inheritance and desire. Similarly, Reyah serves as both photographer and subject in self-portraits that navigate cultural iconography, the Black body, and childhood trauma through staged narratives.

Finally, the collection looks toward spiritual and cultural regeneration. Gabby Severson, a mixed Indigenous artist of Siletz heritage, works across photography, sculpture, and basketry to record and “regenerate evidence of Indigenous identity”. This effort toward understanding is echoed by Wakana Kimura, whose paintings use Buddhist metaphors and a “choreography of subjects” to represent the struggle toward enlightenment. Her work offers no easy paths, suggesting that the journey toward liberty—much like the journey toward enlightenment—is a continuous, evolving process.

Witnessing the Light

The exhibition invites the public to move beyond the “privileged few” and listen to the many voices that have historically been sidelined. As the gallery preface suggests, the light of resistance is found in those who refuse to let the ideal of freedom flicker out.

Exhibition Details:

• Where: Patricia Sweetow Gallery, 1700 South Santa Fe Avenue, Suite 351, Los Angeles.
• When: July 18 – August 22, 2026.
• Opening Event: Saturday, July 18th. A conversation and walk-through with Taraneh Hemami, Preetika Rajgariah, Gabby Severson, and Wakana Kimura will begin at 2:00 pm, followed by a reception from 3:00–5:30 pm.