Where There is Beauty, There Were Women

THANDIWE MURIU (B. 1990)  

Where There Is Beauty, There Were Women  

photography, fine art print on paper  

35 3/8 x 23 5/8 inches (90 x 60 cm)

framed: 36 x 25 inches (91.4 x 63.5 cm)  

Executed in 2025. This work is number 5 from an edition of 7 plus 2 artist's proofs. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authenticity signed by the artist.

PROVENANCE:  

Private collection, New York

NOTES:  

“A man without culture is like a zebra without stripes.” African Proverb

Born in 1990 in Nairobi, Kenya, Thandiwe Muriu is a contemporary artist whose vividly patterned portraits explore African identity, femininity, and the cultural language of adornment. Drawing upon African textile traditions, Muriu creates highly stylized compositions in which figures often merge seamlessly with backgrounds, challenging conventional representations of women while celebrating the richness and complexity of African visual culture. Her work combines precise composition with symbolic layering, transforming portraiture into a site of empowerment, visibility, and cultural affirmation.

The heart of Africa's adornment is shaped under the hands of women. Looking back into centuries of color palettes, beadwork and textile development, female artists often designed the visual cues of a culture to symbolize a new stage in life. Their tasteful craftsmanship developed trends as they defined new looks based on personal taste. On the East African coast, women were the purveyors of style in the development of the kanga cloth when they imagined the first fabrics using dye made from tree bark. Often where there is beauty, the hands of a woman have been involved.

Executed in 2025, Where There Is Beauty, There Were Women reflects Muriu's ongoing exploration of femininity, identity, and cultural empowerment through the visual language of textile and adornment. As in much of her practice, the work carefully balances concealment and visibility, allowing the figure to emerge through intricate relationships of pattern, color, and pose. Through this interplay between body and textile, Muriu creates an image that feels simultaneously contemporary and deeply connected to histories of African craftsmanship and feminine authorship. The blend of historical references and contemporary aesthetics become tools harnessed by Muriu as she contemplates how womanhood can thrive, not in spite of cultural legacies, but within them.

Muriu's work has been exhibited internationally and featured in major publications and art exhibitions. In 2023, her work was selected by Pharrell Williams for inclusion in FEMMES at Perrotin, a landmark exhibition celebrating the work of Black women artists from across the global diaspora. Her distinctive visual language has established her as one of the leading voices in a new generation of African photographers redefining portraiture through color, pattern, and cultural storytelling.