Pakistani-American artist to be represented by reputed gallery in US

Artist-sculptor Huma Bhabha will be represented by American contemporary gallery, David Zwirner, in its New York gallery space in 2024. The gallery also has a presence in London, Paris and Hong Kong.

This announcement comes following the artist's several reputed showings worldwide. Bhabha was the chosen artist for the 2018 Metropolitan Museum of Art Rooftop Commission, where she garnered acclaim for her sculptures which drew detritus from everyday life to create imposing sculptures that reflect the city and its inhabitants in an otherworldly realm. Her current works are on display at Mexican Art Center, Fundacion Casa Wabi until January 2023.

Bhabha is known for her grotesque and often dismembered, larger-than-life figures that allude to life and death. In re-imagining the human figure, she often draws from Egyptian reliquaries, African sculpture, Greek kouroi, Gandharan Buddhas, along with being informed by modern and contemporary artists as Joseph Beuys, Louise Bourgeois, Alberto Giacometti, Robert Rauschenberg, and Franz West.

Of the representation, David Zwirner stated, "Huma Bhabha’s art making has always struck me as truly singular.

"Her formal references, which can take you back to the very beginning of sculpture as well as into the future, are often jarring and dissonant, yet always project an otherworldly beauty. I find it fascinating that discussions around aesthetics have been moving ever more in her direction in recent years, and, increasingly, her practice feels like it will be central for our times. I’m honoured that Huma has decided to join our gallery,” as stated on the gallery's website.

Bhabha was born in Karachi, Pakistan, in 1962 and moved to the United States in 1981 to attend Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, where she received her BFA in 1985. This was followed by the School of the Arts at Columbia University, New York, from which she received her MFA in 1989. The artist currently lives and works in Poughkeepsie, New York.