AGE: 25
BASED IN: New York
On the back wall of the Kunsthalle Basel, Coumba Samba recently installed 176 steel poles, four inches apart. What initially looks like a nod to minimalist sculpture is, in fact, an evocation of the U.S.-Mexico border wall. The four-inch spacing was first adopted by George W. Bush and later taken up by the Trump Administration. Samba—who was born in New York, partly raised in Senegal, and now lives between New York and Europe—makes art about the permeability, arbitrariness, and absurdity of international borders and the way they shape our lives.
Describe one work you’ve made that captures who you are as an artist.
My “Red Gas” show at Arcadia Missa captures my artistic practice in the simplest sense—referencing politics through abstraction and using everyday forms to communicate international affairs. The show is composed of several found home radiators spread across the room and hand-painted in colors extracted from a photo of former Senegalese President Macky Sall shaking hands with Vladimir Putin at the Russia-Africa Summit in 2023. The show encapsulates my interests in global politics and how history is felt and experienced in our daily lives.
Describe your work in three words.
Colorful, playful, curious.
Imagine someone gives you $150,000 to make anything you want—no strings.
A public playground! A small one.
What’s an artwork you didn’t make, but wish you had?
I make most things that come to me! I find it inspiring and exciting, so I always want to start right away. Even with more complex works, I imagine that one day I’ll have the resources to create them.
What’s an underrated studio tool you can’t live without?
A rolling cart. Also the paint squeezing thing.
What art-world trend would you like to see die out?
Insincerity.
Is there a studio rule you live by?
Go consistently.
Who are the three people, alive or dead, invited to your dream art-world dinner party?
Pope.L, Kazimir Malevich, Barbara Kruger.
See CULTURED’s full 2025 Young Artists list and access other individual artist profiles here.
in your life?
