Draft:Uman (artist)

Uman (born 1980) is a Somali painter and sculptor. Self-taught as a painter, Uman has received critical acclaim for her use of colour and figurative abstraction. Her painting LSD snowfall was on the cover of winter 2022 issue of The Paris Review and her style described as "bright, geometric, and vivid". Roberta Smith, co-chief art critic at The New York Times, has praised Uman as a "truly gifted artist".

Early years
Uman was born in Somalia in 1980 and spent a substantial part of her early life in Mombasa, Kenya. In 1989, her family decided to move to Kenya due to the eruption of the Somali Civil War, and they settled there permanently. In the early 2000s, Uman was living in New York and participating in the city's creative scene.

Career
Uman gained notability for her unique and original approach to art, blending cross-cultural, art historical, and textile-based references in her paintings, sculptures, and assemblage works. She began by selling art on the streets of New York in the early 2000s. In 2015, she had her first solo exhibition at White Columns in New York City, which garnered significant attention. Her third solo show, I Will Sit Here and Wait for You, was reviewed and called a Must See in N.Y.C. galleries by co-chief art critic of The New York Times Roberta Smith, and featured in the New York Galleries: What to See Right Now. In 2022 Uman began being represented by Nicola Vassell, who sold out a booth of her paintings at the Independent Fair that same year, and her first solo show with the Nicola Vassell Gallery, I Want Everything Now, was noted by the What to See in N.Y.C. galleries which was reviewed by New York Times art critic Will Heinrich

For winter 2023 Hauser & Wirth and Nicola Vassell announced a "collective impact" model with joint representation of Uman.

Uman has had solo exhibitions at Nicola Vassell, New York City; Eleni Koroneou Gallery,, Athens; Fierman, New York City; Anne de Villepoix, Paris; and White Columns, New York City.

Personal life
Uman lives in upstate New York and has a studio in Albany, New York.

Exhibitions

 * 2025 The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Solo Exhibition, Ridgefield, CT
 * 2024 Hauser & Wirth London, Solo Exhibition, London
 * 2023 Nicola Vassell and Hauser & Wirth, Art Basel Miami Beach, FL
 * 2023 Nicola Vassell Gallery, 'Uman: I want everything now,' New York City
 * 2022 Eleni Koroneou Gallery, 'Goodnight, sweetdreams,' Athens, Greece