Valentine, 2024

Artspace, Phaidon, and Independent are pleased to announce a new limited edition of silkscreen prints by New York-based contemporary artist Uman, entitled Valentine. Emblematic and vibrant, the edition of 35 signed prints features generous hand-embellished finishes and gold leaf.

Uman is known for kaleidoscopic color and an unmistakable language of symbols which is informed by expansive cross-cultural environments throughout the artist’s life. Her work has inspired the admiration of critics at leading publications including The New York Times, the New Yorker, CNN, and Artnet, who declare it “intense, playful, and powerfully consuming.”

Born and raised in East Africa, Uman emigrated to Denmark as a teenager and later to New York as a young adult, where she now lives and works. Her experiences in each place have coalesced into an energetic, intuitive, and rigorous practice that straddles abstraction and figuration, conjuring the worlds within and without.

‘I grew up with colorful women, a colorful culture. East African and Somali people love color more than anything. I’ve kept that in me, living here in the West, and I’m using that in my work to tell a story.’—Uman

As seen in Valentine, precise linework plays a significant role in Uman’s compositions, recalling the rhythm and elegance of Arabic calligraphy, which the artist studied as a child. Surrounded by nature in her rural Upstate studio, a reverence for nature and the sublime also permeates the artist’s work. 

“The original artwork was painted at my home in upstate NY in 2022, part of a group of three. I tend to make smaller paintings at home, this group was about four feet tall. The paintings were made outside in the sun with spray paint and acrylic and finished in my studio with oil sticks. I'll be signing and embellishing the prints with the same type of oil stick that was used for the original painting.” —Uman

Valentine will debut at the Independent Art Fair in New York this May. A portion of the proceeds from this print will be donated to support White Columns, New York. Uman’s new edition marks the second iteration of a collaborative editions program with Artspace, Phaidon, and Independent that celebrates contemporary artists of distinction inaugurated by the commission of Jameson Green’s Cain and Abel in 2023.  

Image credit: Garrett Carroll 

Uman’s dazzling visual vocabulary reflects her life and expansive cross-cultural experiences. Born in Somalia and raised in Kenya, she migrated to Denmark as a teenager and later to New York NY as a young adult. Now, with a home and studio in Albany NY, Uman paints richly-hued worlds replete with gesture, geometry, and the sublime. An intuitive artist, her influences abound from memories of East African childhood, a rigorous education in traditional calligraphy, and a fascination with kaleidoscopic color and design. With nods to self-portraiture and fictional topographies, Uman’s paintings speak fluently of liminal navigation. Her work contemplates both the physical and spiritual, intertwining abstraction, figuration, meditative patterning, and reverence for the natural world.

All our frames are manufactured in the USA, using eco-friendly and sustainably sourced engineered hardwood for durability and a uniform finish that is free of defects. Frames are available in Black or White Satin and Honey Pecan.

All prints are hinged to a conservation quality, acid-free and lignin-free Alpha Cellulose matboard, using an acid-free linen tape. The mat's surface paper is fade and bleed resistant and is attached to a conservation quality foam-core mounting board that will keep the work safe from deterioration over time. Artworks with a deckled or decorative edges will be floated on the matboard, with acrylic spacers to separate the art from the glazing. All mounting is fully reversible, without any potential damage to the art.

All of our frames come with picture quality .090 mm plexiglass, which blocks 66% of UV to prevent color fading from exposure to light, keeping your art protected for years to come. It is now considered the industry standard for artists, museums and galleries throughout the world.

For images up to 30" x 40"

• 1 1/4” wide, 3/4” deep, with a 2 1/2” wide mat.
• We generally leave 1/4” - 1/2” of paper showing around the image, to accommodate signatures and for visual appeal.

For sheet sizes larger than 30” x 40" please contact an Artspace advisor for a custom quote.

Our art editions ship in 7 to 10 business days from New York.

Our framed art editions ship in 11 to 14 business days from New York.

This work is eligible for return within 30 days of receipt of delivery.

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Contact an Artspace Advisor at advisor@artspace.com