Memory is rarely a passive recollection; it’s an active, often intricate, process of gathering, reconstructing, and re-evaluating the fragments history leaves behind. This profound idea is the driving force behind Wangari Mathenge’s latest body of work, culminating in her inaugural solo exhibition with Lévy Gorvy Dayan in New York, aptly titled Re-membering.
A Journey Through Time and Identity
On view through October 24, 2026, the exhibition unveils five compelling new paintings alongside Mathenge’s first publicly exhibited sculptures, expanding upon a series she initiated in 2024. The project draws its intellectual roots and namesake from Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o’s seminal 2009 work, Something Torn and New: An African Renaissance.
Mathenge embarked on this artistic exploration by delving into Kenyan colonial literature and cultural artifacts from 1900 to 1963 – the year Kenya achieved independence from the United Kingdom. Her meticulous research questioned the very construction of both historical narratives and her own cultural identity.
From Contemplation to Creation: The Paintings
Her latest paintings transcend mere contemplation, translating this deep investigation into vibrant action. Women, each serving as an avatar for Mathenge herself, inhabit richly layered domestic interiors meticulously set in the 1960s. These scenes, exemplified by works like Re-membering XIII (May the Wind Be Always at Your Back), are replete with objects, textiles, and cultural references, inviting viewers into a deeply personal yet universally resonant dialogue about heritage.
“Re-membering signifies not merely the act of recall, but the active gathering and reassembly of what has been fragmented: cultural memory, inherited forms, histories, and ways of seeing,” Mathenge articulates, underscoring the dynamic nature of her artistic process.
Sculpting Stories: Beyond the Canvas
This powerful act of reconstruction extends beyond the two-dimensional canvas into two striking new sculptural works.
The Doorway to Memory: Re-membering VIII
Re-membering VIII (Before Us, After Us, Ever Changing) is a poignant pairing: a hand-carved wooden doorframe, crafted by skilled artisans in Malindi, Kenya, meets a densely embellished macramé textile. The textile, a collaborative effort with Mathenge’s family and community, evokes an imagined, ever-shifting landscape, while the doorframe itself echoes the iconic carved doors of Lamu Old Town, symbolizing thresholds and transitions.
Fashioning Inheritance: Re-membering IX
For Re-membering IX (The Shape of Inheritance), Mathenge turns her gaze to clothing. A voluminous knitted sculpture, displayed on a dress form, masterfully reinterprets historical Gikuyu dress. Intriguingly, it incorporates colonial references such as the Victorian bustle and train, highlighting the complex interplay of cultural influences. Once again, community members contributed to the intricate knitting, transforming the very act of creation into a profound exploration of how cultural forms are inherited and evolve, rather than remaining static.
History as a Living Material
Across both painting and sculpture, Mathenge approaches history not as a rigid narrative to be faithfully reproduced, but as a pliable material to be worked, reshaped, and reassembled. Bodies become landscapes, domestic spaces transform into vibrant sites of reconstruction, and inherited forms are meticulously deconstructed and then brought together anew. In this way, Re-membering becomes as much about what can be carried forward and revitalized as it is about what might have been lost or forgotten.
Wangari Mathenge’s Re-membering XII (The Wednesday Women’s Club) further illustrates this, depicting women in a richly detailed domestic setting, surrounded by objects that serve as potent personal and cultural markers.
Wangari Mathenge: Re-membering is on view through October 24, 2026, at Lévy Gorvy Dayan, located at 19 E. 64th St. in New York City.
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