Huma Bhabha
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Huma Bhabha (born 1962) is a Pakistani-American
sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
based in
Poughkeepsie Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsi ...
, New York. Known for her uniquely grotesque, figurative forms that often appear dissected or dismembered, Bhabha often uses found materials in her sculptures, including styrofoam, cork, rubber, paper, wire, and clay. She occasionally incorporates objects given to her by other people into her artwork. Many of these sculptures are also cast in bronze. She is equally prolific in her works on paper, creating vivid pastel drawings, eerie photographic collages, and haunting print editions.


Early life and education

Bhabha was born in
Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...
,
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
. Her mother was an artist, though did not work as one professionally. Bhabha's childhood home was full of art books, and her mother would often help her with projects. By high school, Huma enjoyed drawing and painting and had started to think about becoming a professional artist. Travelling to the United States to study in 1981, Bhabha received her B.F.A. at the
Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase the ...
(1985), where she majored in printmaking while also taking classes in painting. After graduating, she returned to Pakistan for nearly 2 years. After her father passed away in 1986, she returned to the United States and attended
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
, where she earned her M.F.A. (1989). While at Columbia, she made paintings using found wood and metal instead of canvas, which allowed her to incorporate formal qualities such as shape, space, and color. Starting in her second year at Columbia, she worked as an assistant to artist Meyer Vaisman, from whom she learned how to be a professional artist. She continued working for him after she graduated and leveraged the professional connection to network and meet people in the art world. Bhabha lived in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
until 2002, when she moved to Poughkeepsie, New York, where she currently resides and works. She lives with her husband, Jason Fox, who is also an artist and whom she married in 1990.


Work

Bhabha describes her sculptures as “characters” that, through their materiality, rough construction, and references to the history of sculpture, become rich screens for projections of psychological depth. Bhabha's work draws from a broad and eclectic range of influences, incorporating art-historical references to everything from classical and
African sculpture Most African sculpture was historically in wood and other organic materials that have not survived from earlier than at most a few centuries ago; older pottery figures are found from a number of areas. Traditional African masks, Masks are importa ...
to the works of modernists like
Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
, Brancusi, and
Giacometti Alberto Giacometti (, , ; 10 October 1901 – 11 January 1966) was a Swiss sculptor, painter, Drafter, draftsman and Printmaking, printmaker. Beginning in 1922, he lived and worked mainly in Paris but regularly visited his hometown Borgonovo, ...
. At the same time, the works also recall elements of popular culture, especially the dystopic visions of science-fiction pioneers Philip K. Dick and J.G. Ballard. She has also noted that science-fiction and horror films, particularly the work of
David Cronenberg David Paul Cronenberg (born March 15, 1943) is a Canadian film director, screenwriter, and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror genre, with his films exploring visceral bodily transformation ...
, have contributed to motifs of puppetry and mutation in her work. Between 2002 and 2004, Bhabha worked for a
taxidermist Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body via mounting (over an armature) or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word ''taxidermy'' describes the proce ...
, through which she obtained discarded animal skulls. Some of these skulls have appeared in her work. Huma never studied sculpture in art school, so her pieces were originally created through a process of trial and error. She originally started experimenting with plastics, foam rubber, and spray paint, as well as found objects such as feathers and panty hose. By 1992, she knew she wanted to create three-dimensional works. In 2000, she began to incorporate elements of
Robert Rauschenberg Milton Ernest "Robert" Rauschenberg (October 22, 1925 – May 12, 2008) was an American painter and graphic artist whose early works anticipated the Pop art movement. Rauschenberg is well known for his Combines (1954–1964), a group of artwor ...
's style of immediacy into her works. She was particularly struck by his piece, ''Centaur'', because it was different from what she had been doing and referenced other kinds of art she liked. Until that moment, she had always felt her work had a defined process: a beginning, a middle, and an end. After this stylistic shift, she realized she could organically choose a stopping point when she felt that her work had reached an interesting stage. This mentality is what lead her to produce one of her most recognizable pieces, ''Untitled'', in 2001. She was in the midst of sculpting a clay figure when she discovered that the plastic bag she was using to keep the clay moist could serve double purpose as a sculptural element in itself. The figure resembled a body bag or a Muslim praying, which was especially relevant to her in light of the recently started war in Afghanistan. She says of her own work, “I’m interested in a suicide of the self when I make the work: no country, no gender, etc. I don't want the work to be tied to any one specific self or ideology. When you are nothing, you can become everything.”


Exhibitions

Bhabha's work has been featured in exhibitions widely in North America and Europe, including major group exhibitions such as "Fourth Plinth Shortlist Exhibition" at the
National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...
, London, ''Greater New York'' at
MoMA PS1 MoMA PS1 is a contemporary art institution located in Court Square in the Long Island City neighborhood in the borough of Queens, New York City. In addition to its exhibitions, the institution organizes the Sunday Sessions performance series, th ...
(2005 and 2015); Heritage Store Rosewater Spray with Atomizer 8-Ounce Bottle ''USA Today: New American Art from the Saatchi Gallery'' at the
Royal Academy of Arts The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...
, London (2006; traveled to the
State Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the list of ...
, St. Petersburg, Russia, 2007); the 2008 Gwangju Biennial; the 2012 Paris Triennial; the
Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...
, New York (2010 and 2011); the 2010 ''
Whitney Biennial The Whitney Biennial is a biennial exhibition of contemporary American art, typically by young and lesser known artists, on display at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City, United States. The event began as an annual exhibition in ...
'' at the
Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is an art museum in the Meatpacking District and West Village neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–1942), ...
, New York; Biennale Internazionale di Scultura di Carrara (2010) and the 2015 ''
Venice Biennale The Venice Biennale (; it, La Biennale di Venezia) is an international cultural exhibition hosted annually in Venice, Italy by the Biennale Foundation. The biennale has been organised every year since 1895, which makes it the oldest of ...
''. She also features regularly at Art Basel. The artist's first solo museum exhibition took place in 2008 at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum. She has also had solo exhibitions at MoMA PS1 (2012–2013), Collezione Marmotti, Reggio Emilia, Italy (2012), and the
Aspen Art Museum Founded in 1979, the Aspen Art Museum (AAM) is a non-collecting contemporary art museum located in Aspen, Colorado. AAM exhibitions include drawings, paintings, sculptures, multimedia installations and electronic media. Aspen Art Museum Building ...
in Aspen (2011–2012). Bhabha created a site-specific work titled "We Come in Peace" for the roof garden at The Metropolitan Museum of Art (2018).


Awards and Grants

The
Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum is located in Ridgefield, Connecticut Ridgefield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. Situated in the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains, the 300-year-old community had a population o ...
in
Ridgefield, Connecticut Ridgefield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York ...
, awarded its 2008 Emerging Artist Award to Bhabha. The award came with a $5,000 prize and a solo exhibition at the museum (September 14, 2008 – February 8, 2009). Her first solo museum exhibition in New York was in 2012 at
MoMA PS1 MoMA PS1 is a contemporary art institution located in Court Square in the Long Island City neighborhood in the borough of Queens, New York City. In addition to its exhibitions, the institution organizes the Sunday Sessions performance series, th ...
: ''Huma Bhabha: Unnatural Histories'' was organized by Peter Eleey, Curator, MoMA PS1, with Lizzie Gorfaine, Curatorial Assistant (November 18, 2012 – April 1, 2013). Bhabha was featured as one of sixteen creative thinkers in the 2012 film ''From Nothing, Something: A documentary on the creative process'', which has screened at multiple film festivals including the
Newport Beach Film Festival The Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF) is an annual film festival in Newport Beach, California, typically held in late April. In 2022, it was announced that the festival have permanently changed its date to be held in October, as the festival beg ...
. In 2013 Bhabha was awarded a Berlin Prize Fellowship at the
American Academy in Berlin The American Academy in Berlin is a private, independent, nonpartisan research and cultural institution in Berlin dedicated to sustaining and enhancing the long-term intellectual, cultural, and political ties between the United States and Germany ...
. In 2016 she was honored by the
Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...
, New York during the museum's annual "Party in the Garden" celebration, and also served on the jury of the prestigious Nasher Prize, awarded by the
Nasher Sculpture Center Opened in 2003, the Nasher Sculpture Center is a museum in Dallas, Texas, that houses the Patsy and Raymond Nasher collection of modern and contemporary sculpture. It is located on a site adjacent to the Dallas Museum of Art in the Dallas Art ...
, Dallas (the prize was awarded in 2017 to artist Pierre Huygue).


Collections

Huma Bhabha's work is included in the following public collections: *
Art Gallery of New South Wales The Art Gallery of New South Wales (AGNSW), founded as the New South Wales Academy of Art in 1872 and known as the National Art Gallery of New South Wales between 1883 and 1958, is located in The Domain, Sydney, Australia. It is the most importa ...
, Sydney, Australia *
Albright-Knox Art Gallery The Buffalo AKG Art Museum, formerly known as the Albright–Knox Art Gallery, is an art museum at 1285 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, New York, in Delaware Park. the museum's Elmwood Avenue campus is temporarily closed for construction. It hosted e ...
, Buffalo, New York *
Bronx Museum of Art The Bronx Museum of the Arts (BxMA), also called the Bronx Museum of Art or simply the Bronx Museum, is an American cultural institution located in Concourse, Bronx, New York. The museum focuses on contemporary and 20th-century works created by ...
, Bronx, New York *
Museum of Fine Arts, Houston The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), is an art museum located in the Houston Museum District of Houston, Texas. With the recent completion of an eight-year campus redevelopment project, including the opening of the Nancy and Rich Kinder Build ...
, Texas * Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), New York City, New York * Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met), New York City, New York * Print and Stokes Galleries,
New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...
, New York City, New York *
Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art The Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art is an art museum that is part of Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, Kansas. The Nerman Museum is named for donors Jerry and Margaret Nerman. It opened in October 2007, succeeding the college's ...
, Overland Park, Kansas *
Centre Georges Pompidou The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the Centre national d'art et de culture Georges-Pompidou ( en, National Georges Pompidou Centre of Art and Culture), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English, is a complex building in the Beaubourg area of ...
, Paris, France *
Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is an art museum in the Meatpacking District and West Village neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–1942), ...
, New York City, New York *
Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery located in London. It houses the United Kingdom's national collection of international modern and contemporary art, and forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It is ...
, London, England.


See also

* List of Pakistani women artists


References


External links

*Article
They're Among Us: Reviewing Huma Bhabha: They Live Exhibit at the ICA Boston
ArtsEditor.com, 3 May 2019. *Article:

', The New York Times, February 20, 2004.
Huma Bhabha, a Guna S. Mundheim Visual Arts Fellow
at the American Academy Berlin.
Huma Bhabha at VW (VeneKlasen/Werner)
Berlin in 2014.
Huma Bhabha at BORCH Gallery in 2019
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhabha, Huma 1962 births Living people 20th-century American sculptors Pakistani sculptors Rhode Island School of Design alumni Columbia University School of the Arts alumni 21st-century American sculptors People from Karachi Pakistani emigrants to the United States