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Uman

Name: Uman
Brand: Hachette Australia
SKU: 9781580937283
Price: 110.0 NZD
Availability: InStock

Brief Description

This is the first comprehensive monograph on the work of the Somali-born, self-taught artist Uman, whose vibrant, abstract compositions fuse figuration, spirituality, and personal mythology. Known for her vivid colour palettes, intricate patterning, and fluid, improvisational gestures, Uman's work resists easy classification. Her paintings and drawings... Read More

Format: Hardback

$110⁰⁰

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Releases 25^th August 2026 (Approx. Date) Pre-order "Uman" now to secure your copy from our first shipment

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Uman

$110⁰⁰

The first comprehensive book on the expansive, kaleidoscopic work of Somali American artist Uman

Description

Her paintings and drawings often emerge from meditative, intuitive processes, drawing from an internal landscape shaped by migration, queer identity, and a profound engagement with the artist's own unconscious. At once formally rigorous and emotionally charged, her work is informed by a wide range of references—including East African textiles, Islamic calligraphy, nature, and dreams—resulting in compositions that pulse with life and layered meaning.

This richly illustrated volume traces Uman's extraordinary trajectory from her early life in Somalia and Kenya to her current studio practice in upstate New York. Featuring work made over the past 20 years along with newly commissioned essays, this book also includes selections of Uman's personal photography, providing an intimate view into the artist's life.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781580937283

Publisher: Monacelli Press

Format: Hardback

Date Published: 27 August 2026

Country: United States

Imprint: Monacelli Press

Illustration: 225 Illustrations

Contributors:

Contributions by Amber Jamilla Musser
Contributions by Lauren Cornell
Contributions by Omar Jason Farah
By Uman
Contributions by Roberta Smith

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Width: 250.0mm

Height: 290.0mm

Weight: 0g

Pages: 272

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Arts & Culture Non-Fiction Pre-order Books Pre-orders Pre-orders by Release Date

About the Author

Uman (born 1980, Mogadishu, Somalia) has had solo exhibitions at Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, CT; Hauser & Wirth, London and Zurich; Nicola Vassell Gallery, New York; and White Columns, New York, among others. She lives and works in upstate New York.

Lauren Cornell is artistic director of the Hessel Museum of Art, Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College.

Omar Jason Farah is curatorial assistant at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive.

Amber Jamilla Musser is a professor of English, Africana Studies, and Black, Race, and Ethnic Studies (BRES) at the CUNY Graduate Centre.

Roberta Smith is former co-chief artic critic for the New York Times, where she worked for nearly forty years.