“Exhibition: Uman – Comprehensive Showcase at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum”

Uman’s interdisciplinary artistic practice defies traditional boundaries, weaving together painting, drawing, murals, mosaics, sculpture, and glasswork to create a vibrant tapestry rich with color and image. Her art emerges from a deep interplay of memories, dreams, and the dynamic ebb and flow of life. It’s an intuitive, multilayered visual language that is both adaptable and unbound by strict metaphor or abstraction, often transcending the indeterminate to connect with something transcendent.

Drawing inspiration from her childhood in East Africa, her diasporic journey through Europe and the United States, and her fondness for textiles and fashion, Uman’s art reflects a broad spectrum of influences. Her work captures the essence of Somali bazaar fabrics, the fluidity of Arabic calligraphy taught in madrasas, and landscapes spanning from Kenya to Upstate New York.

Her current exhibition, “Uman: After all the things …,” on display at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, Connecticut, until May 10, 2026, showcases new and recent creations. This diverse collection includes paintings, works on paper, video, and sculpture, often using varied materials such as oil, acrylic, spray paint, oil stick, and collage. Uman’s method involves working on several pieces at once, constructing dynamic pictorial arrangements inspired by French 19th-century painting, surrealism, and visionary abstraction, as well as nature. Her energetic techniques—employing dry brushes, fingers, and palms—blur the lines between drawing and painting.

Fusing art history with personal biography, and mingling spirituality with reality, Uman’s work seeks to illuminate the metaphorical, drawing inspiration from a profound appreciation and respect for the natural world.

The exhibition is accompanied by Uman’s inaugural museum publication, co-published by Gregory R. Miller & Co., which includes an essay by the curator and images from the exhibit. Curated by Amy Smith-Stewart, the Diana Bowes Chief Curator, this showcase of Uman’s oeuvre invites viewers to reflect on the artist’s journey and the vibrant, evocative tapestry she continues to weave. For further details, visit thealdrich.org.