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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...
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Format: Hardback
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August 2026
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Uman
$11000
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The first comprehensive book on the expansive, kaleidoscopic work of Somali American artist Uman
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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 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
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.
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