Addis Gezehagn

Addis Gezehagn (b.1978), a long-time artistic presence in Addis Ababa, is known for portraying the multifaceted characteristics of the city’s residents by detailing the external facades of their homes. In his “Floating Cities/ Floating Towers” series, Gezehagn depicts dreamlike deconstructed and layered renderings of the urban landscapes rising above the ground. These compositions made by layering magazine cut outs with acrylic paint, blend the boundaries of fantasy and reality of urban life, blurring the lines between the past, present and future.

Flattened and reductive, Gezehagn’s works imagine cityscapes as towers, or patchworks of colourful doors and gates, the architectural structures seeming to signify a natural, organic network of living spaces. The rootless and ephemeral nature of the layered towers call into question the lives of the inhabitants. Examining the personal and public spaces, the works archive walls and towers destined to crumble, tracing a pattern of classism and social injustice. Gezehagn’s works urge us to think beyond homes as functional entities and offer commentary on the socio-economic context of urban life.

Gezehagn currently lives and works in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He graduated from the Addis Ababa University School of Fine Arts and Design with a Diploma and BFA in 2011. His first international exhibtion was in 2017 at 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair in London which was received with great acclaim. Since then, he has gone from strength to strength, garnering more international interest after having his first sold out solo show at Addis Fine Art’s main gallery in Addis Ababa in 2018 followed by 1-54 Contemporary Art Fair London (2018) and Art Dubai (2019).

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Education 2011

• 1978 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
• Currently lives and works in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
• BFA, Graphic Design, Addis Ababa University, Alle School of Fine Art and Design, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

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Studio Arts Experience

• 2011 – present Professional studio artist: painting and mixed media work. Lives and works in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

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Selected Solo Exhibitions

• 2018 1-54 Art Fair London with Addis Fine Art, London, UK
• Floating Cities/ Detached Perceptions, Addis Fine Art, Addis Ababa

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Selected Group Exhibitions

• 2019 Art Dubai, Dubai with Addis Fine Art, Dubai, UAE
• 2018 Addis Calling II, Group Show, Addis Fine Art, Addis Ababa
• FNB Joburg Art Fair with Addis Fine Art, Joburg, ZA
• Investec Cape Town Art Fair with Addis Fine Art, Cape Town, ZA 2017
• 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair with Addis Fine Art, London, UK
• FNB Joburg Art Fair with Addis Fine Art, Joburg, ZA