Bricklayer Lane, 2022
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 Kansas City. Umaña’s early practice focused on geometric paintings and has since expanded to include ceramics. His recent work investigates the history of the Pipil people—the Indigenous group of his family ancestry—native to the western and central areas of present-day El Salvador. Umaña’s recent works, “hybrid paintings,” combine glazed ceramics on painted canvas and fuse together conflicting styles—mess and order, biomorphic and geometric, thin and thick, matte and sheen. These abstract representations evoke specific places from his childhood, memories of nature, beaches, plants, construction materials, food and religion.
Umaña is the co-founder of The Ekru Project, an artist-run Kansas City gallery focused on contemporary, emerging and underrepresented artists. In 2017, he created a permanent installation at The United Nations Headquarters in New York City. He has completed residencies at the Josef and Anni Albers Foundation (2024); 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.
Kevin Umaña
Seen Between Clouds After Rain, 2023
glaze on stoneware
14 x 14 x 14 inches (35,6 x 35,6 x 35,6 cm)
SW 23139
InquireKevin Umaña
Movement Within a Golden Frame, 2023
acrylic, oil, vinyl paint, flock, sand, gouache and ceramics on canvas
24 x 18 1/2 x 2 1/2 inches (61 x 47 x 6,4 cm)
SW 23077
InquireKevin Umaña
Spring Blooming in the Meadow, 2023
acrylic, oil, vinyl paint, flock, ink, oil pastel, sand, gouache, colored pencil and ceramics on canvas
24 x 18 1/2 x 1 1/2 inches (61 x 47 x 3,8 cm)
SW 23078
Kevin Umaña
Andy's Pimento Loaf, 2023
acrylic, oil, vinyl paint, flock, ink, oil pastels, sand gouache, colored pencil and ceramics on canvas
48 x 36 x 2 1/2 inches (121,9 x 91,4 x 6,4 cm)
SW 23080
InquireKevin Umaña
Looking Up to Catch a Glimpse Behind the Clouds, 2023
acrylic, oil, vinyl paint, flock, sand, gouache, and ceramics on canvas
24 x 18 1/2 inches (61 x 47 cm)
SW 23161
InquireKevin Umaña
Dynamics of a Dancing Fountain, 2023
glaze on stoneware
14 x 13 1/4 inches (35,6 x 33,7 cm)
SW 23148
InquireKevin Umaña
Source of Direction Through the Luminous Black, 2023
glaze on stoneware
15 x 18 x 11 inches (38,2 x 45,7 x 27,9 cm)
SW 23157
InquireKevin Umaña
Where the Rugged Mountain Meets the Water, 2022
oils, acrylic, gouache, watercolor, sand, flocking, ink, pastels and ceramics on canvas
16 1/2 x 13 1/2 inches (41,9 x 34,3 cm)
SW 22350
Kevin Umaña
Seen Between Clouds After Rain, 2023
glaze on stoneware
14 x 14 x 14 inches (35,6 x 35,6 x 35,6 cm)
SW 23139
Kevin Umaña
Movement Within a Golden Frame, 2023
acrylic, oil, vinyl paint, flock, sand, gouache and ceramics on canvas
24 x 18 1/2 x 2 1/2 inches (61 x 47 x 6,4 cm)
SW 23077
Kevin Umaña
Spring Blooming in the Meadow, 2023
acrylic, oil, vinyl paint, flock, ink, oil pastel, sand, gouache, colored pencil and ceramics on canvas
24 x 18 1/2 x 1 1/2 inches (61 x 47 x 3,8 cm)
SW 23078
Kevin Umaña
Andy's Pimento Loaf, 2023
acrylic, oil, vinyl paint, flock, ink, oil pastels, sand gouache, colored pencil and ceramics on canvas
48 x 36 x 2 1/2 inches (121,9 x 91,4 x 6,4 cm)
SW 23080
Kevin Umaña
Looking Up to Catch a Glimpse Behind the Clouds, 2023
acrylic, oil, vinyl paint, flock, sand, gouache, and ceramics on canvas
24 x 18 1/2 inches (61 x 47 cm)
SW 23161
Kevin Umaña
Dynamics of a Dancing Fountain, 2023
glaze on stoneware
14 x 13 1/4 inches (35,6 x 33,7 cm)
SW 23148
Kevin Umaña
Source of Direction Through the Luminous Black, 2023
glaze on stoneware
15 x 18 x 11 inches (38,2 x 45,7 x 27,9 cm)
SW 23157
Kevin Umaña
Where the Rugged Mountain Meets the Water, 2022
oils, acrylic, gouache, watercolor, sand, flocking, ink, pastels and ceramics on canvas
16 1/2 x 13 1/2 inches (41,9 x 34,3 cm)
SW 22350