There are certain relationships that settle into the body like sugar on the tongue; quiet, intimate, and unforgettable. In the name of a sweet thing, Louise Mandumbwa traces the delicate residues of such relationships across time and geography. Louise Mandumbwa gathers an offering; an intimate constellation of gestures, materials, and memories; centered around the enduring tenderness of kinship. Through drawing, painting, and printmaking, she reflects on relationships that have quietly sustained her across time, geography, and change, particularly those shared with women from across the African diaspora.
Hearne Fine Art is proud to present new works from the multi-disciplinary Botswana born and New Haven Based artist. Connected to the American south and north east over the last decade; these locations become more than just points on a map; they are emotional coordinates, holding the imprint of shared meals, warm laughter, quiet conversations, and the unspoken intimacies that linger in the wake of closeness.
A meditation on presence, absence, and the rich, often subtle textures of being in community, each piece gestures toward connections formed and reformed over time, with a sensitivity to the fleeting nature of time spent in person. Mandumbwa invites us to consider what is gained through these encounters: the sweetness that remains, the ways that tenderness travels, and the ways we carry people with us even after they’ve gone.
Her materials speak this language too. Using graphite, charcoal, ink, and paint on surfaces like concrete, wood, glass, and cast metal, materials often associated with building; she constructs spaces of memory and care. These are not literal portraits or scenes, but rather translations of emotion, atmosphere, and memory. Texture becomes a kind of storytelling. Surface becomes a kind of skin. Her works do not recreate the past but reimagine its emotional resonance, often drawing from conversations, archival fragments, and private recollections.
If there is a throughline in The Name of a Sweet Thing, it is one of generosity. These works reach out. They speak softly, but with intention. They ask the viewer to slow down, to remember the people who’ve left their mark, and to think about the small, meaningful ways we care for one another. Whether it’s the offering of fruit, the warmth of a shared kitchen, or a long walk with someone you love; Mandumbwa honors the everyday beauty of those moments and the networks of care they create.
In this way, the exhibition becomes a kind of holding space; not just for memory, but for the relationships that make memory matter. A soft, strong gesture toward something shared. Something sweet.
