Uman

Looking to artists such as Frank Bowling and his saturated washes of pigment, as well as expanding on the tropes of color field painting, this formal progression begins in Uman’s home, where she applies, pours and manipulates paint on unstretched canvases to create a base layer. Uman privileges saturated colors, combining bright jewel tones alongside darker hues in surprising ways. Producing large swathes of color, from pools of purple in ‘Purple Painting’ (2024) to deep coats of blue, the artist then stretches the material and works on the paintings further in her studio.

This formal progression aligns with Uman’s desire to pursue a painterly exploration of nature, engaging with forms, dots and abstract patterning that resemble mycelial networks. These collide with anthropomorphic elements to culminate in depictions that are at once botanical and intergalactic, with paintings such as ‘Green Painting’ (2024) suggesting fantastical landscapes. The exhibition also includes three striking paintings of seasons, ‘4 Seasons #1 (Green)’ (2024), ‘4 Seasons #2 (Blue)’ (2024) and ‘4 Seasons #3 (Red)’ (2024), exemplifying the environment as experienced from her rural setting and leaning into her fascination with color field painting.

In contrast to these organic forms, other works depict lattice structures or are executed on gridded paper. Previously evoking the grid system of streets and avenues in New York City, works like ‘Swiss Chocolate’ (2024) are instead a tribute to the setting of the exhibition in Zurich and the Swiss roots of the gallery. These speak to the gridded wall mural in the gallery, an ambitious intervention that houses 16 works on paper. Further works on paper included two double-sided drawings that hang from the gallery’s tall ceiling, offering viewers access to both sides of the artwork.