Uman

September 11–October 24, 2015 320 West 13th Street
Eight works installed along the walls of a gallery, including seven abstract paintings and one sculptural work.

Uman, installation view, 2015

Two oil on wood works, installed one above the other on a wall. The untitled work at the top resembles a simple circular face, while Breast Plate, the below work, references a simplified human torso.

Uman, installation view, 2015

Five works installed along two adjacent walls: four abstract paintings, two to a wall, and a yellow sculpture made of bones, oil and gesso, installed at the corner of the two walls.

Uman, installation view, 2015

Two works installed on a gray wall. To the left is a circular, untitled work depicting a simple face. To the right is Midsummer Madness, a large work on linen tapestry that drapes onto the floor.

Uman, installation view, 2015

Four works installed along a gallery wall. From left to right, House 1, House 2, the sculptural work Solace, and an untitled oil and collage painting depicting a figure holding a hand to their mouth.

Uman, installation view, 2015

Three works installed along a gray wall. From left to right: an untitled floor sculpture made from a Persian rug, an untitled abstract oil painting, and a larger abstract painting titled Mombasa.

Uman, installation view, 2015

Five works installed along two adjacent walls in a gallery.

Uman, installation view, 2015

An oil and collage painting on a drawing board. At the center is a photographic cutout of a shirtless Black man carrying a large bag on his shoulders. Abstract marks surround the figure.

Uman
Untitled, 2013
Oil and collage on drawing board
15 × 16 in.

A collaged painting composed of an array of images against a murky blue and green background, including a mass of human eyes, a cave, a pile of stones and an elephant.

Uman
Untitled, 2013
Collage and oil on plastic board
30 × 30 in.

Press Release

White Columns is proud to present the debut solo exhibition by the New York-based artist Uman. The exhibition surveys Uman’s practice since 2012, and includes work in painting, sculpture, and assemblage.Visceral and poetic, and rooted in specific autobiographical experience – a childhood and adolescence spent in Kenya and Somalia, and a subsequent migration to the United States – Uman’s work provokes a complex set of questions concerning memory, identity, and gender: ultimately suggesting that such constructions remain fluid, constantly in flux.A self-taught artist, Uman’s work embraces both folk and outsider-ish mannerisms, especially evident in the precise use of found or scavenged materials and supports – e.g. a dog’s blanket, animal bones, a discarded rug, or the seats of long-abandoned chairs, the latter of which adopt anthropomorphic qualities taking on the form of a human torso or portrait-like masks.In the paintings ‘House 1’ and House 2’ (2013-14), where domestic space is reduced to a skeletal armature, the institution of ‘home’ is depicted as a precarious or even elusive notion.  Other large-scale, ostensibly abstract paintings – typically painted on bolts of un-stretched linen or cotton – are informed directly by the seasonal aesthetic (and psychological) shifts of the landscape in upstate New York where the artist is currently based.<strong>Uman</strong> (b. 1980) lives and works in upstate New York, and is affiliated with the ‘137 Artists Collective’, a New York City art studio established by Annatina Miescher a Swiss-born, New York-based practicing psychiatrist. Uman and other artists affiliated with ‘137AC’ collaborated with the artist Bjarne Melgaard on exhibitions at New York’s Ramiken Crucible gallery and London’s Institute of Contemporary Art (both 2012). More recently Uman’s work was included in the group exhibition ‘Art Brut, The 137 Artists Collective’ at Biancasforni Studio, New York (2015.)To learn more about 137AC visit: www.137AC.orgWhite Columns would like to thank Annatina Miescher for the introduction to Uman’s work.

Eight works installed along the walls of a gallery, including seven abstract paintings and one sculptural work.
Two oil on wood works, installed one above the other on a wall. The untitled work at the top resembles a simple circular face, while Breast Plate, the below work, references a simplified human torso.
Five works installed along two adjacent walls: four abstract paintings, two to a wall, and a yellow sculpture made of bones, oil and gesso, installed at the corner of the two walls.
Two works installed on a gray wall. To the left is a circular, untitled work depicting a simple face. To the right is Midsummer Madness, a large work on linen tapestry that drapes onto the floor.
Four works installed along a gallery wall. From left to right, House 1, House 2, the sculptural work Solace, and an untitled oil and collage painting depicting a figure holding a hand to their mouth.
Three works installed along a gray wall. From left to right: an untitled floor sculpture made from a Persian rug, an untitled abstract oil painting, and a larger abstract painting titled Mombasa.
Five works installed along two adjacent walls in a gallery.
An oil and collage painting on a drawing board. At the center is a photographic cutout of a shirtless Black man carrying a large bag on his shoulders. Abstract marks surround the figure.
A collaged painting composed of an array of images against a murky blue and green background, including a mass of human eyes, a cave, a pile of stones and an elephant.

Uman, installation view, 2015 (Eight works installed along the walls of a gallery, including seven abstract paintings and one sculptural work.)

Uman, installation view, 2015 (Two oil on wood works, installed one above the other on a wall. The untitled work at the top resembles a simple circular face, while Breast Plate, the below work, references a simplified human torso.)

Uman, installation view, 2015 (Five works installed along two adjacent walls: four abstract paintings, two to a wall, and a yellow sculpture made of bones, oil and gesso, installed at the corner of the two walls.)

Uman, installation view, 2015 (Two works installed on a gray wall. To the left is a circular, untitled work depicting a simple face. To the right is Midsummer Madness, a large work on linen tapestry that drapes onto the floor.)

Uman, installation view, 2015 (Four works installed along a gallery wall. From left to right, House 1, House 2, the sculptural work Solace, and an untitled oil and collage painting depicting a figure holding a hand to their mouth.)

Uman, installation view, 2015 (Three works installed along a gray wall. From left to right: an untitled floor sculpture made from a Persian rug, an untitled abstract oil painting, and a larger abstract painting titled Mombasa.)

Uman, installation view, 2015 (Five works installed along two adjacent walls in a gallery.)

Uman Untitled, 2013 Oil and collage on drawing board 15 × 16 in. (An oil and collage painting on a drawing board. At the center is a photographic cutout of a shirtless Black man carrying a large bag on his shoulders. Abstract marks surround the figure.)

Uman Untitled, 2013 Collage and oil on plastic board 30 × 30 in. (A collaged painting composed of an array of images against a murky blue and green background, including a mass of human eyes, a cave, a pile of stones and an elephant.)