With the ominous title Before The End, Huma Bhabha (b. Karachi, Pakistan, 1962) sets the stage to evoke mythologies as old as humankind. Conceived for Brooklyn Bridge Park, Bhabha’s four monumental painted and patinated bronzes were cast from carved cork and skull fragments. The mysterious figures recall ancient effigies cut into tombstones, their surfaces evoking centuries of eroded sediment and stone. Yet, unlike a tomb, these four-sided vertical forms stand elevated above the earth, their bones open to the sky.
“Before The End” is a title borrowed from the writings of Vincent of Beauvais (c. 1184 – 1264), whose Medieval imagination sparked with supernatural and apocalyptic visions. Today, the related popular genres of horror and science fiction continue to inspire Bhabha, as does art history from antiquity to the present day. Her rough-hewn figures are ambiguous—are they emerging or trapped within, rising from the depths of the earth or returning to the underworld? Set amidst an expansive landscape where the natural and man-made converge, Bhabha’s sculptures captivate through contradiction, seemingly forged in geological time yet animated with a visceral sense of immediacy.
Huma Bhabha: Before The End is curated by Public Art Fund Executive & Artistic Director Nicholas Baume with support from Public Art Fund Assistant Curator Jenée-Daria Strand.
About the Artist
Since the 1990s, Huma Bhabha (b. 1962) has become known for layered and nuanced work that centers on reinvention of the figure and its expressive possibilities. Her formally inventive practice encompasses sculpture, drawings, and photography. Born in Karachi, Pakistan, Bhabha moved to the United States in 1981 to attend Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, from which she received her BFA in 1985. She later studied at the School of the Arts at Columbia University, New York, from which she received her MFA in 1989. The artist presently lives and works in Poughkeepsie, New York.
Bhabha has been the recipient of notable awards, such as The American Academy in Berlin’s Berlin Prize, the Guna S. Mundheim Fellowship (2013), and the Emerging Artist Award from The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, Connecticut (2008). In 2022, Bhabha was elected as a National Academician by the The National Academy of Design, New York. In 2023, the artist was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York.
In 2023, M Leuven, Belgium, presented the solo exhibition Huma Bhabha: LIVIN’ THINGS. The show traveled to MO.CO., Montpellier, France, in November 2023, as Huma Bhabha: A fly appeared, and disappeared. A solo presentation of Bhabha’s work curated by Nicholas Baume, Touching Earth, was on view at Fundación Casa Wabi, Puerto Escondido, Mexico, from 2022 to 2023. In 2020, the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Gateshead, England, presented Huma Bhabha: Against Time. The Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, organized Huma Bhabha: They Live, on view in 2019, and published an accompanying catalog. An installation of the artist’s work, Huma Bhabha: We Come in Peace, was commissioned by The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, in 2018 for their roof garden.
Previous solo exhibitions have taken place at prominent institutions such as The Contemporary Austin, Texas (2018); MoMA PS1, Long Island City, New York (2012); Collezione Maramotti, Reggio Emilia, Italy (2012); Aspen Art Museum, Colorado (2011); and The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, Connecticut (2008), among others. Bhabha’s work has also been included in numerous group exhibitions internationally, including the 2019 Yorkshire Sculpture International, Wakefield, United Kingdom; the 56th Venice Biennale, All the World’s Futures (2015); and the 2010 Whitney Biennial.
Location
Con el inquietante título Before The End (Antes del fin), Huma Bhabha, nacida en Karachi, Pakistán, en 1962,prepara el escenario para evocar mitologías tan antiguas como la humanidad misma. Concebidos para el Brooklyn Bridge Park, los cuatro bronces monumentales de Bhabha fueron fundidos en moldes de corcho tallado y fragmentos de cráneo. Estas misteriosas figuras recuerdan antiguas efigies labradas en lápidas, y sus superficies evocan siglos de piedras y sedimentos erosionados. Sin embargo, a diferencia de una tumba, estas formas verticales de cuatro lados se elevan sobre la tierra, con los huesos abiertos hacia el cielo.
“Before The End” es un título inspirado en los escritos de Vicente de Beauvais (c. 1184 – 1264), cuya imaginación medieval ardía con visiones sobrenaturales y apocalípticas. Los géneros populares del terror y la ciencia ficción siguen inspirando a Bhabha, al igual que la historia del arte desde la antigüedad hasta nuestros días. Sus toscas figuras son ambiguas: ¿están emergiendo o están atrapadas en su interior? ¿Están surgiendo de las profundidades de la tierra o regresando al inframundo? Emplazadas en medio de un paisaje expansivo donde convergen lo natural y lo creado por el hombre, las esculturas de Bhabha cautivan a desde sus contradicciones, aparentemente fraguadas en el tiempo geológico, pero animadas con una sensación visceral de inmediatez.
Acerca de la Artista
Desde la década de 1990, Huma Bhabha (n. 1962) ha sido reconocida por su trabajo, lleno de capas y matices, que se centra en la reinvención de la figura y sus posibilidades expresivas. Su práctica, formalmente inventiva, abarca escultura, dibujo y fotografía. Nacida en Karachi, Pakistán, Bhabha se mudó a los Estados Unidos en 1981 para asistir a la Rhode Island School of Design, en Providence, donde obtuvo una Licenciatura en Bellas Artes en 1985. Posteriormente estudió en la Escuela de Artes de la Columbia University, en Nueva York, donde obtuvo el título de Maestra en Bellas Artes en 1989. Actualmente vive y trabaja en Poughkeepsie, Nueva York.
Bhabha ha recibido notables galardones, como la Beca Guna S. Mundheim, Premio Berlín, otorgado por la American Academy de Berlín (2013), y el Premio al Artista Emergente, otorgado por el Aldrich Museum of Contemporary Art, de Ridgefield, Connecticut (2008). En 2022, Bhabha fue elegida Académica Nacional por la Academia Nacional de Diseño de Nueva York. En 2023, la artista ingresó en la Academia Americana de las Artes y las Letras de Nueva York.
Huma Bhabha LIVIN’ THINGS se presentó en 2023 en M Leuven, Bélgica, y viajó después a MO.CO., Montpellier, Francia, con el título Huma Bhabha: A fly appeared, and desappeared. Una exposición individual de la obra de Bhabha, comisariada por Nicholas Baume, Touching Earth, fue presentada en la Fundación Casa Wabi, Puerto Escondido, México, de 2022 a 2023. En 2020, el Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art de Gateshead, Inglaterra, presentó Huma Bhabha: Against Time. El Institute of Contemporary Art, de Boston, organizó Huma Bhabha: They Live, expuesta en 2019, y publicó un catálogo adjunto. El Metropolitan Museum of Art de Nueva York encargó en 2018 una instalación de la obra de la artista, Huma Bhabha: We Come in Peace, para una de sus terrazas.
Huma Bhaba ha tenido exposiciones individuales en instituciones destacadas como The Contemporary Austin, Texas (2018); MoMA PS1, Long Island City, Nueva York (2012); Collezione Maramotti, Reggio Emilia, Italia (2012); Aspen Art Museum, Colorado (2011); y The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield, Connecticut (2008), entre otros. La obra de Bhabha también se ha incluido en numerosas exposiciones colectivas a nivel internacional, incluyendo Yorkshire Sculpture International (2019); Wakefield, Reino Unido; la 56ª Bienal de Venecia, All the World’s Futures (2015); y la Bienal del Whitney de 2010.
Ubicación
Bloomberg Philanthropies is the presenting sponsor of Huma Bhabha: Before The End.
Leadership support for Before The End is provided by David Zwirner Gallery, the Girlfriend Fund, Jennifer Sykes Harris, and Elizabeth Fearon Pepperman & Richard C. Pepperman II with champion support from Elise & Andrew Brownstein, Ellen & Andrew Celli, Kirsh Foundation, Andrea Krantz & Harvey M. Sawikin, Holly & Jonathan Lipton, Jennifer & Jason New, Rasika & Girish Reddy, Karen & Sam Seymour, Donna Green & Michael Sternberg, and Allison Wiener & Jeffrey Schackner; and generous support from the Blue Rider Group at Morgan Stanley, Susan & Jonathan Bram, the Deborah Buck Foundation, and Linda Lennon & Stuart Baskin. Additional support is provided by Carla Shen.
International Partner: Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, New Delhi
Huma Bhabha: Before The End is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
Nothing Falls is presented courtesy of the Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, New Delhi; Feel the Hammer, Member and Mr. Stone are presented courtesy of the artist and David Zwirner.
Special thanks to Brooklyn Bridge Park and engineering partner Silman.
Public Art Fund is supported by the generosity of individuals, corporations, and private foundations including lead support from Bloomberg Philanthropies, along with major support from the Abrams Foundation, the Charina Endowment Fund, The Cowles Charitable Trust, the Joseph and Joan Cullman Foundation for the Arts, The Fuhrman Family Foundation, The Marc Haas Foundation, Hartfield Foundation, William Talbott Hillman Foundation- Affirmation Arts Fund, KHR Family Fund, the Donald A. Pels Charitable Trust, Red Crane Foundation, Meyer and Deanne Sharlin Foundation, The Silverweed Foundation, and Wagner Foundation.
Public Art Fund exhibitions and programs are also supported in part with public funds from government agencies, including the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.
