Leilah Babirye

Born in Kampala, Uganda, and based in New York, Leilah Babirye is known for her highly expressive, ambiguously gendered sculptures in ceramic, wood, and discarded objects. Reclaiming ceramic and wood-carving traditions from western and central Africa, she hand builds her ceramics, firing them with expressive glazes, while she whittles, scorches, and burnishes her wood sculptures. As a final touch, she adorns them with wire, bicycle chains, inner tubes, and other found metals and materials. The sculptures, which range in scale from towering totemic forms to busts, talismans, and masks, are portraits of her LGBTQ+ community. Babirye's work speaks to the power of reclaiming personal and cultural identity through artistic practices, historical narratives, and cultural traditions.

This exhibition, the artist's first solo museum show in the United States, highlights the connection between past and present that is at the heart of our Contemporary African Art program.

---

---

---

---

Art of Leileh Babirey

---

---

---

---

---

---

Art of Africa

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

New Guinea Art

---

---

New Guinea Art The De Young Museum’s Oceanic Art gallery is prominently situated at the top of the main staircase, one of the first galleries visitors approach when entering the permanent collection. The exhibit takes up a large section of the second floor and is separated into two parts. The Jolika Collection, a permanent installation of art from New Guinea, takes up about three quarters of the gallery. The furthest quarter is dedicated to rotating exhibitions from the rest of the De Young's Oceanic art collection. An exhibit of Maori art is currently in this space. The intended audience is a diverse general public. Due to its location in California, it is likely that most visitors come into the gallery without knowing much about the culture and art of New Guinea.

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

---

Created on: 2024.08.24

Updated on: 2024.08.25

---