Ash Uman

Born in Kampala, Ash Uman moved at a young age to Nairobi where he attended secondary school and undertook numerous jobs including working as a cartographer and research assistant, alongside which he began painting. His first solo exhibition was in 1989 in Nairobi, and shortly afterwards he became a full-time painter.

From early on, Uman’s paintings played with narrative, reference and stylistic dialogue, conveying a subtle, surrealist criticality of notions of African aesthetics. As his work progressed, he continued to be engaged with art historical notions such as the masquerade as well as being driven by a sensitivity to touch and light.

From the 1990s, Uman’s works have been exhibited frequently across East Africa; in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, as well as in Italy and The Netherlands.