Huma Bhabha facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Huma Bhabha
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We Come in Peace (2018) by Huma Bhabha at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, DC
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| Born | 1962 (age 62–63) |
| Nationality | Pakistani |
| Education | Rhode Island School of Design, Columbia University |
| Known for | Sculpture |
Huma Bhabha (born in 1962) is a talented Pakistani-American artist. She is famous for making unique sculptures, often using everyday items she finds. She lives and works in Poughkeepsie, New York. Her art often looks a bit strange or "grotesque," but it's always interesting!
Huma Bhabha uses many different materials in her sculptures. She might use things like styrofoam, cork, rubber, paper, wire, and clay. Sometimes, she even adds objects that people give to her. Many of her sculptures are also made into bronze, which is a strong metal. Besides sculptures, she also creates amazing drawings, collages made from photos, and special prints.
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Early Life and Art School
Huma Bhabha was born in Karachi, Pakistan. Her mother was also an artist, but she didn't work as one professionally. Huma's childhood home was filled with art books. Her mother often helped her with art projects.
By the time she was in high school, Huma loved drawing and painting. She started thinking about becoming a professional artist. In 1981, she moved to the United States to study art.
Art Education and Learning
Huma went to the Rhode Island School of Design. She earned her degree there in 1985. She focused on printmaking but also took painting classes. After graduating, she went back to Pakistan for almost two years.
In 1986, Huma returned to the United States. She then attended Columbia University and earned another art degree in 1989. At Columbia, she started making paintings on wood and metal instead of canvas. This helped her explore different shapes, spaces, and colors.
During her time at Columbia, she also worked as an assistant for artist Meyer Vaisman. She learned a lot about being a professional artist from him. This connection helped her meet many people in the art world.
Moving to Poughkeepsie
Huma Bhabha lived in New York City until 2002. Then, she moved to Poughkeepsie, New York. This is where she lives and works today. She is married to Jason Fox, who is also an artist. They got married in 1990.
How Huma Bhabha Creates Art
Huma Bhabha calls her sculptures "characters." She believes that the materials she uses and the way she builds them make them seem deep and meaningful. Her art is inspired by many different things.
Inspirations for Her Work
Huma's work includes ideas from ancient Greek and African sculpture. She also gets ideas from famous modern artists like Picasso, Brancusi, and Giacometti.
But her art isn't just about art history. It also has parts that remind you of popular culture. She often uses ideas from science fiction stories. She likes the dark, futuristic worlds created by writers like Philip K. Dick. Horror films, especially those by David Cronenberg, have also inspired her. These films often show ideas of puppets and strange changes in bodies.
Between 2002 and 2004, Huma worked for a taxidermist. This is someone who prepares animal skins to look lifelike. Through this job, she got animal skulls that were no longer needed. Some of these skulls have even appeared in her artwork!
Her Unique Sculpture Process
Huma never actually studied sculpture in art school. So, she learned how to make her pieces through trial and error. She started by trying out plastics, foam rubber, and spray paint. She also used found objects like feathers and pantyhose. By 1992, she knew she wanted to create three-dimensional art.
Around 2000, she started to use a style similar to artist Robert Rauschenberg. She liked how he made art that felt immediate and unplanned. One of his pieces, Centaur, really inspired her. It was different from what she was doing.
Before this, Huma always felt her art had a clear beginning, middle, and end. After seeing Rauschenberg's work, she realized she could stop working on a piece whenever it reached an interesting stage. This new way of thinking led her to create one of her most famous pieces, Untitled, in 2001.
She was sculpting a clay figure when she noticed something. The plastic bag she used to keep the clay wet could also be part of the sculpture! The figure looked like a body bag or someone praying. This was especially meaningful to her because of the war in Afghanistan that had just started.
Art Shows and Exhibitions
Huma Bhabha's art has been shown in many exhibitions. Her work has been seen widely in North America and Europe.
Major Group Shows
She has been part of big group exhibitions. These include "Fourth Plinth Shortlist Exhibition" at the National Gallery in London. Her work was also in Greater New York at MoMA PS1 in 2005 and 2015.
Other important group shows include USA Today: New American Art from the Saatchi Gallery. This show was at the Royal Academy of Arts in London in 2006. It later traveled to the State Hermitage Museum in Russia. She also showed her art at the 2008 Gwangju Biennale and the 2012 Paris Triennial. Her art has been at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 2010 and 2011. She was also part of the 2010 Whitney Biennial at the Whitney Museum of American Art. Her work has been featured at the Biennale Internazionale di Scultura di Carrara (2010) and the 2015 Venice Biennale. She also regularly shows her art at Art Basel, a major art fair.
Solo Exhibitions
Huma Bhabha's first solo museum exhibition was in 2008. It took place at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum. She has also had solo shows at MoMA PS1 (2012–2013). Other solo exhibitions include Collezione Marmotti in Italy (2012) and the Aspen Art Museum (2011–2012).
In 2018, Huma Bhabha created a special artwork for the roof garden at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. It was called "We Come in Peace."
Awards and Honors
Huma Bhabha has received several awards and grants for her amazing art.
Recognitions for Her Work
The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Ridgefield, Connecticut, gave Huma Bhabha their 2008 Emerging Artist Award. This award came with a $5,000 prize. It also included a solo exhibition at the museum, which ran from September 2008 to February 2009.
Her first solo museum exhibition in New York was in 2012 at MoMA PS1. This show was called Huma Bhabha: Unnatural Histories. It was open from November 2012 to April 2013.
In 2012, Huma Bhabha was featured in a film. It was called From Nothing, Something: A documentary on the creative process. The film showed sixteen creative thinkers. It was shown at many film festivals, including the Newport Beach Film Festival.
In 2013, Huma Bhabha received a Berlin Prize Fellowship. This was from the American Academy in Berlin. In 2016, she was honored by the Museum of Modern Art in New York. This happened during the museum's yearly "Party in the Garden" event. She also helped judge the important Nasher Prize. This prize is given by the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas.
Where to Find Her Art
Huma Bhabha's art is part of many public collections. This means her work is owned by museums and galleries for everyone to see.
- Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
- Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York
- Bronx Museum of Art, Bronx, New York
- Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, 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, New York City, New York
- Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, Overland Park, Kansas
- Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France
- Whitney Museum of American Art, New York City, New York
- Tate Modern, London, England.
- Weatherspoon Art Museum, Greensboro, North Carolina
See also
- List of Pakistani women artists
