Draft:Wangari Mathenge

{{Infobox person

| name = Wangari Mathenge

| image = WANGARI MATHENGE.jpg

| birth_date = Born 1973

| birth_place = Nairobi, Kenya

| nationality = Kenya and USA

| occupation = Artist

| website = https://www.wangarimathenge-studio.com/

}}

Wangari Mathenge (b. 1973) is a Kenyan-born contemporary visual artist lives and works between London, UK, Chicago, Illinois, USA, and Nairobi, Kenya. Her practice, which includes drawings, ceramics, sculpture, animation, installations and paintings, explores the multifaceted nature of African identity and culture, examining the flow of ideas, objects, and social practices across the continent and diaspora. Mathenge‚ work often centers on the experiences of Black women, reimagining the domestic sphere as a site of empowerment and knowledge production. She has exhibited in cities including New York, Los Angeles, London, Miami, Chicago, New York, Hong Kong and Frankfurt. Wangari Mathenge's website.{{Cite web |title=Wangari Mathenge Studio - Contemporary Artist |url=https://www.wangarimathenge-studio.com/ |access-date=2025-03-18 |website=Wangari Mathenge Studio |language=en}}

Background and Education

Mathenge pursued higher education in the United States, earning degrees from Howard University and Georgetown University Law Center, where she specialized in International Business and Economic Law. Later, she shifted her focus to art, completing an MFA at School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2021. Mathenge degrees include B.S. International Business Administration, an MBA, Juris Doctor (J.D.) Masters in Law (LLM) and most recently Masters in Painting and Drawing (MFA) in 2021.

= Art =

Mathenge's vibrant paintings, characterized by intricate patterns and bold colors, explore the multifaceted experiences of Black women within African societies. Drawing inspiration from East African textiles like the Khanga, her work often incorporates cultural objects to challenge traditional gender roles and celebrate Black female identity.

Mathenge's practice extends beyond traditional painting, encompassing installations and animations that further enrich her narratives.

File:Wangari Mathenge Home Sweet Home (After Seurat, Manet and Pippin), 2023.jpg

Solo Exhibitions

2023 A Day of Rest,{{Cite web |title=Wangari Mathenge {{!}} 9 October - 4 November 2023 |url=https://www.houldsworth.co.uk/exhibitions/137-wangari-mathenge-a-day-of-rest/press_release_text/ |access-date=2025-03-18 |website=Pippy Houldsworth Gallery |language=en}} [https://www.houldsworth.co.uk/ Pippy Houldsworth Gallery], London UK
2023 Tidal Wave of Colour,{{Cite web |title=Wangari Mathenge - Exhibitions - Roberts Projects LA |url=https://www.robertsprojectsla.com/exhibitions/wangari-mathenge2 |access-date=2025-03-18 |website=www.robertsprojectsla.com |language=en}} Roberts Projects, Los Angeles, CA
2021 "You Are Here"{{Cite web |title=Wangari Mathenge {{!}} 12 October - 18 December 2021 |url=https://www.houldsworth.co.uk/exhibitions/106-wangari-mathenge-you-are-here/press_release_text/ |access-date=2025-03-18 |website=Pippy Houldsworth Gallery |language=en}} Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, London UK

Notable works in public collections

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden NYC, NY - Colonial Veranda (After Wood's "American Gothic"), {{Cite web |last=Institution |first=Smithsonian |title=Hirshhorn Acquires 175 Artworks, Expanding the Full Breadth of Modern and Contemporary Art in Its 50th Year |url=https://www.si.edu/newsdesk/releases/hirshhorn-acquires-175-artworks-expanding-full-breadth-modern-and-contemporary-art |access-date=2025-05-07 |website=Smithsonian Institution |language=en}}2023 - Oil, oil stick and acrylic on canvas.
Crocker Art Museum Sacramento CA- Home Sweet Home (After Seurat, Manet and Pippin),{{Cite web |title=Crocker Art Museum - Art - Home Sweet Home (After Seurat, Manet, and Pippin) by Wangari Mathenge {{!}} Crocker Art Museum |url=https://www.crockerart.org/art/detail/home-sweet-home-after-seurat-manet-and-pippin-wangari-mathenge-2023-57-1 |access-date=2025-05-07 |website=www.crockerart.org |language=en}}2023 - Oil and oil stick on canvas
Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Turin, Italy - The Ascendants VII (The Living Room),{{Cite web |title=Stretching the Body |url=https://fsrr.org/en/mostre-category/stretching-the-body/ |access-date=2025-03-18 |website=Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo |language=en-US}} 2020 Oil on canvas
Rubell Family Collection Miami Fl- The Ascendants XI (Homage To Ecclesiastes Three, One through Eight),{{Cite web |title=Press |url=https://www.houldsworth.co.uk/press/120-a-shared-devotion-how-friendship-helps-us-transcend/ |access-date=2025-03-18 |website=Pippy Houldsworth Gallery |language=en}} 2021 - Oil on canvas
Weisman Art Museum Minnesota - The Ascendants VIII (Local Natives), 2020 - Oil on Canvas

Notable Group Exhibitions

2025 Through Their Eyes: Selections from the Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Collection,{{Cite web |last=Parsons |first=Justin K. |date=2018-09-27 |title=Current Exhibitions {{!}} jan shrem and maria manetti shrem museum of art |url=https://manettishremmuseum.ucdavis.edu/current-exhibitions |access-date=2025-03-25 |website=manettishremmuseum.ucdavis.edu |language=en}} Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art, UC Davis, Davis CA.
2022 "When We See Us: A Century of Black Figuration in Painting"{{Cite web |title=When We See Us: A Century of Black Figuration in Painting |url=https://zeitzmocaa.museum/exhibition/exhibitions/when-we-see-us-a-century-of-black-figuration-in-painting/ |access-date=2025-03-18 |website=Zeitz MOCAA |language=en-ZA}} Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (Zeitz MOCAA), South Africa
2021 Black American Portraits: LACMA{{Cite web |date=2022-01-13 |title=Black American Portraits {{!}} LACMA |url=https://www.lacma.org/art/exhibition/black-american-portraits |access-date=2025-03-18 |website=www.lacma.org |language=en}}

Publications and Recent Media

= Print =

2025 100 Years of How Black Painters See Themselves{{Cite news |last=LaBarge |first=Emily |date=2025-02-10 |title=100 Years of How Black Painters See Themselves |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/10/arts/design/how-we-see-us-koyo-kouoh-bozar-brussels.html?searchResultPosition=1 |access-date=2025-03-18 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} - The New York Times By Emily LaBarge.
2024 Women sitting book:{{Cite web |title=Revue Lisières – Revue des arts contemporains |url=https://lisieres.com/ |access-date=2025-03-18 |language=fr-FR}} Sylvie Comet, Revue Lisieres
2022 African Art Now,{{Cite book |url=https://www.octopusbooks.co.uk/titles/osei-bonsu/african-art-now/9781781578902/ |title=African Art Now |date=2022-04-11 |isbn=978-1-78157-890-2 |language=en-US |last1=Bonsu |first1=Osei |publisher=Octopus }} Osei Bonsu, Octopus Publishing Group
2022 Great Women Painters,{{Cite web |title=Great Women Painters {{!}} Art {{!}} Store {{!}} Phaidon |url=https://www.phaidon.com/store/art/great-women-painters-9781838663285/ |access-date=2025-03-18 |website=www.phaidon.com}} Edited by Alison Gingeras, Phaidon Press

== Video ==

2024 Conversation on the Collection{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHYTvhJ02KE |title=Conversations on the Collection: Wangari Mathenge |date=2024-07-10 |last=Crocker Art Museum |access-date=2025-03-18 |via=YouTube}} - Wangari Mathenge, Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento California.

== Audio ==

2024 In the Studio{{Cite web |title=BBC World Service - In the Studio, Kenyan artist Wangari Mathenge |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct5tkh |access-date=2025-03-18 |website=BBC |language=en-GB}} - BBC World Service - Anna Bailey
2024 All Of It - Artist Wangari Mathenge's New Show,{{Cite web |title=Artist Wangari Mathenge's New Show {{!}} All Of It |url=https://www.wnyc.org/story/artist-wangari-mathenges-new-show/ |access-date=2025-03-18 |website=WNYC |language=en}} WNYC - Alison Stewart

References

{{Draft categories|

Category:1973 births

Category:Living people

Category:Kenyan women artists

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__FORCETOC__

{{Draft categories|

Category:American women artists

Category:African-American women artists

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