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Uman

Uman with Essays by Lauren Cornell, Omar Jason Farah, Amber Jamilla Musser, and Roberta Smith

£49.95

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

Pre-order now. This product will ship from August 27th, 2026.

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About the book

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

Uman’s work across painting, drawing, textile, sculpture, and murals fuses abstraction, figuration, and meditative patterning. Known for her vivid color palettes, rich vocabulary of signs, and fluid, improvisational gestures, Uman incorporates various influences into her art, including East African textiles, portraiture, and a profound engagement with the natural world. This book, which accompanies the artist’s major survey exhibition at the Hessel Museum of Art, Center for Curatorial Studies, Bard College, includes more than 200 works made over the last twenty years, along with four insightful essays that introduce new lenses through which to view Uman’s remarkable practice.

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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