At Hauser & Wirth gallery in London, the Somali-born, New York-based artist Uman is exhibiting her latest works. Here’s what she told me about the nostalgic roots of her painting practice:
In upstate New York, “I’m surrounded by nature and animals,” Uman says, “so that comes out in my paintings: chicken feet, dogs, mouths and teeth.” In “When Rolfie Smiles My World Is Sunshine,” an abstract portrait of her dog, certain shapes recall a snout, a hill and twigs.
“I always mix the same colors, so my paintings are all sort of connected,” Uman says. Her palette is tied to her earliest memories: “Blues and greens have always reminded me of the coast of Mombasa,” where the artist spent part of her childhood, she says. “And red reminds me of my mother and Somali women.”
In “When Rolfie Smiles ... ,” the colors are a vibrant swirl. “During Covid, I started to experiment with oil sticks,” Uman says. “They’re so freeing. It’s almost like using crayons or a Sharpie: They give the effect of markings, are much easier to use and are always very bright and vibrant.”
Uman’s works are influenced by Islamic art, and several depict geometric patterns. Some, such as “To Infinity,” include glass, a nod to the mirror-embellished outfits that Uman and her relatives would wear during Eid al-Fitr. The work “comes from a place of nostalgia,” she says.
“Kara Walker’s silhouettes have played a big role in my work. When you look back at some of my [paintings] from the past, you can see [similar] black silhouettes,” Uman says. She’s also inspired by the Norwegian artist Bjarne Melgaard, at whose studio she previously worked. “He showed me it was OK to make very violent and extreme work. I had always been trying to refine things, but he showed me that you could make these very crude, brutish paintings,” she says.
Over 20 years, Uman’s practice has incorporated multiple media, including sewing, photography and glass blowing. But “for the past decade, I’ve been painting every single day,” she says. “I do about a dozen paintings at a time, all spread out around the room,” the artist adds, referring to her works as “my children; every day I go and take care of each one.”
