“Rest in the arms of trust” (2020) by Tizta Berhanu
On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions
NEW WORKS BY FOUR ARTISTS at different stages of their careers are being presented by Addis Fine Art at Art Dubai 2021 (March 29-April 3). Hailing from Ethiopia and its diaspora, their diverse works address similar themes—the human condition and our resilience and adaptability in the contemporary moment given the myriad challenges and upheaval around the world.
Rising figurative painter Tizta Berhanu (b. 1991) participated in Art Dubai’s 2020 residency program and had her first solo show, “Hēber,” at Addis Fine Art in December 2020. Berhanu’s emotional, complex compositions are on view in Dubai. She lives and works in Addis Ababa.
Employing acrylic paint and magazine cut-outs, the layered collages of Addis Ababa-based Addis Gezehagn (b. 1978) depict the evolving urban landscape of Addis Ababa, referencing the past, documenting the present, and imagining the future of residential homes and public spaces. According to the gallery, “the works archive walls and towers destined to crumble, tracing a pattern of classism and social injustice and offering a commentary on the socio-economic context of urban life.”
The multidisciplinary studio, curatorial, and research-based practice of Tsedaye Makonnen (b. 1984) centers Black lives and is rooted in her identity. An Ethiopian American who lives and works in Washington, D.C., she is an artist, doula, mother, and daughter of Ethiopian immigrants. A recipient of a 2019 Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship, Makonnen participated in 100 Years | 100 Women: Part II, hosted by the Park Avenue Armory in New York in August 2020. Her Astral Sea series, a textile installation activated through performance, explores feminism and forced migration.
A pioneer in Ethiopian Modernism, Tadesse Mesfin (b. 1953) is a longstanding professor at the Alle School of Fine Art and Design in Addis Ababa, where he is training the next generation of artists. On view at Addis Fine Art in London in fall 2020, “Pillars of Life” was Mesfin’s first solo show in Europe. CT
Addis Fine Art is showing at Art Dubai 2021, United Arab Emirates, from March 29-April 3, 2021
Installation view of Addis Fine Art at Art Dubai 2021. | Courtesy of Jalal Abuthina and Addis Fine Art
Co-founded in 2016 by Rakeb Sile and Mesai Haileleul, Addis Fine Art has locations in Addis Ababa and London. | Courtesy Bandele Zuberi
ADDIS GEZEHAGN, “Floating City XXIV,” 2021 (acrylic & mixed media on canvas, 39⅜ x 31½ inches / 100 x 80 cm). | © Addis Gezehagn. Courtesy the artist, Natnael Kebede, and Addis Fine Art
ADDIS GEZEHAGN, “Floating City XXIII,” 2021 (acrylic and mixed media on canvas, 48 x 48 inches / 122 x 122 cm). | © Addis Gezehagn. Courtesy the artist and Addis Fine Art
Installation view of Addis Fine Art at Art Dubai 2021. | Courtesy of Jalal Abuthina and Addis Fine Art
TADESSE MESFIN, “*TBC* from Pillars of Life series,” 2021 (oil on canvas, 195 x 114 cm). | © Tadesse Mesfin. Courtesy the artist, Natnael Kebede, and Addis Fine Art
TSEDAYE MAKONNEN, “Astral Sea II,” 2019 (acrylic mirror and fabric, 457.2 x 91.44 cm). | © Tsedaye Makonnen. Courtesy the artist and Addis Fine Art
Installation view of Addis Fine Art at Art Dubai 2021. | Courtesy of Jalal Abuthina and Addis Fine Art
TIZTA BERHANU, “Dream Intimacy,” 2020 (oil on canvas, 90 x 90 cm). | © Tizta Berhanu. Courtesy the artist, Eyerusalem Jiregna, and Addis Fine Art
TOP IMAGE: TIZTA BERHANU, “Rest in the arms of trust,” 2020 (oil on canvas, 120 x 120 cm). | © Tizta Berhanu. Courtesy the artist, Eyerusalem Jiregna, and Addis Fine Art
