Jumaane N’Namdi, Director

Jumaane N’Namdi, director of N’Namdi Contemporary Miami and N’Namdi Contemporary Chicago, was introduced to the professional art world at the age of six. It was at this time in 1981, when his father, George, founded the G.R. N’Namdi Gallery in Detroit, Mi. Reared in the gallery business and amid an extensive family art collection, Jumaane developed his innate appreciation and understanding for the interrelationship of art, artist and collector.

Upon graduation from Morehouse College in 1997, Jumaane, begin his formal career in the arts at what was then the burgeoning G.R. N’Namdi Gallery Chicago. His discerning eye began to distinguish great pieces from good ones, making it possible for his art patrons to meet world-renowned artists and to develop some of the country’s most prestigious art collections. While under his father’s tutelage, Jumaane quickly assumed the directorship of G.R. N’Namdi Gallery Chicago and subsequently G.R. N’Namdi Gallery New York.

Continuing to forge ahead, Jumaane opened the N’Namdi Contemporary Miami and N’Namdi Contemporary Chicago. He continues to uphold the artistic standards of the master artists he has exhibited in the past, while expanding the gallery’s roster and making N’Namdi Contemporary a home for renowned cutting edge international artists.

While cultivating new audiences, Jumaane keeps a special focus on three concepts: education, culture, and aesthetics. He has worked with various museums including, Art Institute of Chicago, The Detroit Institute of Arts, The Sunrise Museum, The Museum of Contemporary art Chicago, The Telfair Museum, The Smithsonian, and The Studio Museum of Harlem.

As an art consultant and curator his corporate clients include British Airways, Morgan Stanley, Johnson Publication, and Loop Capital as well as public and private, collections and exhibitions including, 200 Years of African American Art: The Arthur Primas Collection; The Kinsey Collection; Charles White: The Shaping of Black America; Ed Clark: The Retrospective; Robert Colescott: Troubled Goods; Rashid Johnson: Seeing in the Dark, Manumission Papers; Herbert Gentry: The Man The Myth The Magic; and James A. Porter, From Me to You: The Work of James A Porter.

Jumaane has published numerous catalogs, including Allie McGhee: Micro to Macro, Ed Clark: Master Painter, Frank Bowling: Full of Light, Herbert Gentry: The Man, The Master, The Magic, James A Porter: From Me to You, Nanette Carter: Aqueous, Richard Mayhew: MoodScapes. Tyrone Mitchell: Resisting Arrest, and McArthur Binion: Simplicism,

He has a vast appreciation for all the arts. He is on the board of the Chicago Muntu Dance Company, a member of the leadership committee for Chicago Sinfonietta BRIO affinity group. He also helped produce numerous films, including Joy Road, Love Shorts, Comatose, and the documentary, In Search of the Light: The Legacy of African American Visual Artists Abroad.

“An appreciation for art is innate, some just need a hand in discovering it. I am here to assist”

Using his 15 years of experience curating private and corporate collections, Jumaane has gone a step further and opened N’Namdi Contemporary Miami. With years of working with many of the country’s top established artists and his unparalleled eye for picking exquisite pieces, he has now fused the masters with mid-career and fresh emerging talent, creating an international array of unique artists

N’Namdi Contemporary Miami has monthly group, solo and traveling exhibitions, as well as specializing in private art consulting around the world.

Indulge Magazine Jumaane N’Namdi Interview