Uman

b. 1980, Somalia

Uman is an intuitive artist and autodidact who lives and works in upstate New York.

Uman paints lavishly detailed worlds replete with color, gesture, geometry and evocations of the sublime. Reflecting her expansive experiences growing up across continents and cultures, her vibrant visual vocabulary draws upon memories of East African childhood, rigorous education in traditional Arabic calligraphy, deep engagement with dreams and fascination with kaleidoscopic color. While these works are executed primarily with oil paint, she also combines acrylic paint, oil stick and collage techniques. With nods to self-portraiture and fictional topographies, Uman’s paintings fluidly inhabit a liminal space between the physical and spiritual realm, exploring abstraction, figuration, meditative patterning and a reverence for the natural world.

Solo exhibitions include Darling sweetie, sweetie darling, Hauser and Wirth, London (2024); Uman: I want everything now, Nicola Vassell, New York (2023); Goodnight, sweetdreams, Eleni Koroneou, Athens (2022) and Uman, White Columns, New York (2015). Selected group exhibitions include The Selves, Nicola Vassell Gallery, New York (2024); Abstraction, (re)creation, Le Consortium, Dijon (2024); Sanctuary, Aga Khan Museum, Toronto (2020) and A house to die in, Institute of Contemporary Arts, London (2012). Uman’s first solo institutional exhibition will be at The Aldrich

Contemporary Art Museum, Connecticut (2025), to be followed by a survey exhibition at the Hessel Museum, Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York (2026).