We Have Been Here Before
Brittany Ham
Hallway Gallery
On view: January 17 – April 11, 2025
We Have Been Here Before, an exhibition by San Antonio artist Brittany Ham, explores the profound and transformative experience of parenthood. Through a diverse range of media—including paintings, sculptures, and tapestry—Ham constructs an immersive and thought-provoking environment within the Hallway Gallery, inviting viewers to confront the complex emotional landscape that accompanies this significant life transition.
The exhibition delves into the intricate process of self-reinvention that occurs with the arrival of a child, examining the shifts in identity, priorities, and perspectives that reshape an individual. Ham’s work grapples with the inherent contradictions of this experience, exploring the simultaneous feelings of joy and anxiety, connection and isolation, and the constant negotiation between personal needs and the demands of caregiving.
The exhibition's title, We Have Been Here Before, speaks to the cyclical nature of life and the echoes of past generations that resonate within the present. It also captures the paradoxical sensation of both familiarity and dislocation that often arises when becoming a parent. This new role can feel both deeply ingrained in our collective human experience and utterly uncharted territory. Ham’s work poignantly captures the tension between the person we were before parenthood and the evolving self that emerges through the ongoing journey of caregiving, responsibility, and profound personal growth. This exhibition offers a powerful and resonant exploration of what it means to become a parent in the modern world.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Brittany Ham is an artist and educator based in San Antonio, Texas. She graduated with a BFA in Painting and a BFA Communication Design from Texas State University in 2012, and graduated with her MFA in Art from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 2016. Brittany currently teaches as a Lecturer of art at Texas A&M University- San Antonio
Ham has exhibited internationally in South Korea, Germany, and the USA. Her work has been featured in publications such as New American Paintings, Friend of the Artist, BE Magazine, and VAST Magazine. She has attended residencies at the Künstlerhaus Bethanien International Studio Program, Vermont Studio Center, and Wildacres. Her art practice explores conventions of historical painting, abstraction, feminine experience, and figuration
Artist Website: https://brittanyham.com/