Thandiwe Muriu: Clouds Bring Blessings

193 Gallery has the pleasure to announce its third solo exhibition by Kenyan artist Thandiwe Muriu, whose work explores themes of identity, culture, and female empowerment. The exhibition Clouds Bring Blessings unveils a new body of work in which the artist opens a dialogue with her natural environment and affirms her ongoing commitment to exploring cultural heritage. For these portraits, Muriu produced her own textile patterns using the tie & dye technique. A short film, on view in the exhibition, captures this creative journey.

 

“When I first began experimenting with fabric-making, I imagined a dive into a technique—a study in both historical and contemporary craftsmanship. Tie & dye seemed like a natural starting point, unseemingly complicated by difficult production techniques, or so I thought. Journeying deeper into the art of fabric-making, what was supposed to be a reconnection to traditional methodologies soon turned into a recognition of our longstanding dialogue with the environment. This journey was not a nostalgic return, but a yielding of process. Over time, it became unsettlingly clear that the environment was my uninvited co-creator. The more I tried to control the outcome of the dyeing process, the more she resisted. This isn’t just a series about fabric. It is about impact; about the undeniable entanglement between what we make, and the world we make it in.” 

Thandiwe Muriu

 

In 2020, Thandiwe Muriu opened her first exhibition, Colors of Africa, at 193 Gallery in Paris and has since gained significant international visibility. In 2024, her work was presented at the 60th Venice Biennale Collateral Event Passengers in Transit, organized by the CCA Lagos, and was subsequently shown at Museum Folkwang, Essen, Germany (2024); Biennale Della Fotografia Feminile, Mantova, Italy (2024); Musée de l’Homme, Paris (2025); Museo Nacional de la Fotografía, Bogotá, Colombia (2025) and Perrotin Gallery, Paris (2025). Muriu’s work is represented in major private and public collections, including the UNESCO collection, the Jean Pigozzi - Contemporary African Art Collection (CAAC), the Photo Élysée Museum in Lausanne, the Hood Museum of Art in New Hampshire, USA. She also has undertaken notable commissions for the United Nations, Apple, Longchamp, and the Swiss Red Cross.