Wangari Mathenge (b. 1973, Nairobi, Kenya) lives and works between London and Chicago, IL. She holds degrees from Howard University and Georgetown University Law Center, Washington DC. In the Summer of 2021, Mathenge completed her MFA in Painting and Drawing at the School of The Art Institute of Chicago. In 2022, she was highlighted in the Artsy Vanguard as one of the most promising artists working today. Mathenge’s solo exhibitions include Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, London (2023); Roberts Projects, Los Angeles, CA (2023; 2019); Monica de Cardenas, Milan (2021); Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, London (2021); and The Sacristy Gallery, Chicago, IL (2021). Mathenge has also recently been featured in group exhibitions including Black American Portraits, first mounted at LACMA, CA before travelling to Spelman College Museum of Fine Art, GA and Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, TN (2022-2024);The Power of Portraiture, Nasher Museum of Art, NC (2022); Stretching the Body, Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin (2021-22); Gaabo Motho, Sakhile&Me, Frankfurt (2021); and Witness: Afro Perspectives from the Jorge M. Pérez Collection, El Espacio 23, Miami (2020-21). Mathenge’s work has been featured in publications including Financial Times, The New York Times, The Sunday Times, The Los Angeles Times, Culture Type and Creative Boom. Collections include Dallas Museum of Art, TX; Nasher Museum of Art, Durham, NC; Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, Turin; Jorge M. Peréz Collection, Miami, FL; Rubell Family Collection, Miami, FL; Weisman Art Museum, Minneapolis, MN; Kistefos Museum, Oslo; Elie Khouri Art Foundation, Dubai; and Crocker Art Museum, Sacramento, CA.