Sperone Westwater is pleased to present a solo by Kevin Umaña featuring his series of “hybrid paintings,” which merge glazed ceramics with painting on canvas. This latest body of work deepens Umaña’s exploration of personal history, cultural identity and the sacred, while introducing new visual motifs inspired by nature.

His geometric abstractions are influenced by Indigenous and pre-Columbian textile traditions alongside Christian references such as stained glass, crosses and illuminations, reflecting the complex cultural landscape of Latin America. Umaña also draws color and pattern from the natural world, specifically birds. “Birds have been a topic that has come up several times recently,” explains the artist. “For centuries, birds have been considered spiritual messengers from the universe or a higher spiritual being. Their messages bring clarity and guidance to those who seek it.”

Umaña’s choice of materials further reinforces his connection to the earth, using unconventional natural elements such as gem minerals, sawdust and clay. The personal scale of his works invites viewers to get close, immersing themselves in the varied surfaces and forms.

From a distance, these hybrid paintings may appear clean and structured, but upon further inspection, they reveal raw, textural and gestural qualities. Their intimate size also draws from the historic tradition of devotional objects, which were small enough for individuals to carry with them, underscoring the artist’s emphasis on a personal relationship to the sacred that transcends specific belief systems.

Kevin Umaña was born in 1989 and grew up in El Salvador and Los Angeles. He received a BFA from San Francisco State University in 2014 and lives and works in Brooklyn, NY. He has completed residencies at the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation (2024); Sharpe-Walentas Studio Program (2023-24); Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts, Helena, MT (2023); The Center for Book Arts, New York (2019); Plop Residency, London, England (2018); and SIM Residency, Reykjavik, Iceland (2018). His work was featured in “Pattern Recognition,” curated by Amy Lincoln at Sperone Westwater in 2022. Institutions owning his work include The United Nations Art Collection, New York; Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, NY; Munson, Utica, NY; Fidelity Mutual Funds Collection; Center for Book Arts Library, New York; and The Marin Museum of Contemporary Art, Novato, CA.