Tamrat Gezahegne
All works are from the sries ‘Indigenous Sky’, 2015.
About:
Tamrat Gezahegne is an Ethiopian artist educated at the Alle School of Fine Arts and Design at Addis Ababa University, awarded with a Diploma in Painting in 2000. Born in Addis Ababa in 1977, he continues to practice in the city through diverse mediums, ranging from painting to performance and installations.
Scrutinizing everyday life while creating and reinventing the language of Ethiopian contemporary fine art, he introduces a straightforward style that deliberately rejects sophisticated artistic techniques preferring the bold directness of colors, or minimalist ink pen and meticulous repetition of motifs
After studying under painter Mezgebu Tesema, he founded the New Art Space studio with classmates, rooting his practice and exhibiting his work. Gezahegn is additionally a founding member of Netsa Art Village.
Work by Gezahegn has been included in the Bonham’s Africa Now Auction (2014). His work has been shown in recent exhibitions such as Addis Contemporary at Circle Art Gallery in Nairobi, Kenya (2015) and in solo exhibitions at Lela Gallery, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (2015, 2011). In 2012 the artist took part in an educational research project in collaboration with Universität der Künste Berlin, Germany which culminated in an exhibition at Raumexperimente / Studio Olafur Eliasson. (text and courtesy Addis Fine Art, Addis Ababa)