Uman
Ep.190 Uman’s dazzling visual vocabulary reflects her life and expansive cross-cultural experiences. Born in Somalia and raised in Kenya, she migrated to Denmark as a teenager and later to New York NY as a young adult. Now, with a home and studio in Upstate New York, Uman paints richly-hued worlds replete with gesture, geometry and the sublime. An intuitive artist, her influences abound from memories of East African childhood, a rigorous education in traditional calligraphy and a fascination with kaleidoscopic color and design. With nods to self-portraiture and fictional topographies, Uman’s paintings speak fluently of liminal navigation. Her work contemplates both the physical and spiritual, intertwining abstraction, figuration, meditative patterning and a reverence for the natural world. Uman has had solo exhibitions at Hauser & Wirth, London, England; Nicola Vassell, New York NY; Eleni Koroneou Gallery, Athens, Greece; Fierman, New York NY; Anne De Villepoix, Paris, France; and White Columns, New York NY. She has been featured in group exhibitions at the Aga Khan Museum, Toronto, Canada; For-Site Foundation at Fort Mason Chapel, San Francisco CA; Institute of Contemporary Arts, London, UK; Karma, New York NY; and Ramiken Crucible, New York NY. In 2022, she was the recipient of the inaugural grant for The Cube at TRIADIC’s FORMAT Festival in Bentonville AR. Headshot Copyright: Uman. Courtesy of the artist, Hauser & Wirth and Nicola Vassell Gallery Photo credit: Luigi Cazzaniga Nicola Vassell Gallery https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/18/style/uman-artist-hauser-wirth/index.html#:~:text=In%20December%202023%2C%20Uman's%20work,the%20spirit%20of%20the%20show. Hauser & Wirth https://www.hauserwirth.com/news/welcoming-uman-to-hauser-wirth-in-partnership-with-nicola-vassell/ https://www.hauserwirth.com/hauser-wirth-exhibitions/uman-darling-sweetie-sweetie-darling/ CNN https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/18/style/uman-artist-hauser-wirth/index.html#:~:text=In%20December%202023%2C%20Uman's%20work,the%20spirit%20of%20the%20show. Artnet https://news.artnet.com/art-world/umans-painting-hauser-wirth-2426374 Brooklyn Rail https://brooklynrail.org/2023/05/art/Uman-with-Chris-Martin Elephant Magazine https://elephant.art/umans-studio-in-the-hudson-valley-is-a-portal-to-a-kaleidoscopic-world/ Artforum https://www.artforum.com/events/uman-250558/ ArtNews https://www.artnews.com/art-news/artists/uman-artist-profile-best-practices-1234685155/ The New Yorker https://www.newyorker.com/goings-on-about-town/art/uman Culturetype https://www.culturetype.com/2023/12/06/nicola-vassell-and-hauser-wirth-galleries-announce-partnership-and-co-representation-of-artist-uman/#:~:text=On%20view%20at%20Nicola%20Vassell,made%20in%202022%20and%202023. Dream Idea Machine https://www.dreamideamachine.com/?p=94536 Art Plugged https://artplugged.co.uk/hauser-wirth-teams-up-with-nicola-vassell-gallery-to-represent-artist-uman/ Meer https://www.meer.com/en/74374-uman-i-want-everything-now Lavocedi https://lavocedinewyork.com/en/new-york/2023/05/09/uman-i-want-everything-now-exhibit-at-nicola-vassell-gallery/ Art Rabbit https://www.artrabbit.com/events/uman-darling-sweetie-sweetie-darling Whitewall https://whitewall.art/art/mark-bradford-senga-nengudi-uman-and-more-must-see-shows-in-new-york/ Cultured Magazine https://www.culturedmag.com/article/2023/05/01/fred-eversley-sarah-morris-uman Fad Magazine https://fadmagazine.com/2024/01/30/uman-darling-sweetie-sweetie-darling/ What We Adore https://www.whatweadore.com/uman-darling-sweetie-sweetie-darling/