Merikokeb Berhanu
A World Grows Within
Merikokeb Berhanu
Merikokeb Berhanu
A World Grows Wtihin
Merikokeb Berhanu (b. 1977, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia) received her Bachelor of Fine Arts at Addis Ababa University, Alle School Fine Arts and Design in 2002, where she studied painting under the tutelage of a generation of Ethiopian modernist painters. Following her graduation, Merikokeb and her contemporaries founded an artist-run studio and exhibition space called the Nubia Studio (2004) with the goal of increasing their visibility and long-term career opportunities in a region where the arts have historically been under-supported. The next fifteen years were spent quietly developing her work and crafting her idiosyncratic visual language that so deftly toes the line between pure abstraction and recognisable form.
Merikokeb’s immigration to Maryland, USA in 2017 marked a time of sudden and intense change in all aspects of her life, a shift that is nowhere more evident than in her paintings. While Merikokeb’s work has always had a focus on lifeforms and biomorphic imagery, at this point she started to gravitate towards the more vibrant hues that define her latest paintings. New symbols – a circuit board structure, the skeletal remains of fish – began to emerge throughout Merikokeb’s work as she grappled with the implications of a society estranged from nature.
Merikokeb has featured in several European group shows and presentations, including Beneath the Surface: The Mysteries of Living and Dying, Addis Fine Art London (2019), From Modern to Contemporary: Artists from the Horn of Africa and Diaspora, CFHILL, Stockholm (2021), and Where Cloudy Waters Collide, Pippy Houldsworth, London, UK (2022). Merikokeb was included in the Milk of Dreams, The 59th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy (2022). The artist is set to be featured in Making Their Mark Curated, by Cecilia Alemani, Shah Garg Foundation, New York (2023), and Ethiopia at the Crossroads, Walters Art Museum, Baltimore (2023).
Merikokeb’s paintings are in several public collections, including Denver Art Museum, Inhotim Museum, Brumadinho, Brazil, and Foundation H, Antananarivo, Madagascar.
6 7
8 9
Untitled LXXXVIII, 2023
Acrylic on canvas
95.5 x 35.8 in.
243 x 91 cm
95.5 x 35.8 in.
243 x 91 cm
10 11
Untitled LXXXI, 2023
Acrylic on canvas
183
12 13
Untitled LXXXII , 2023
Acrylic on canvas
72 x 48 in.
x 122 cm
72 x 48 in.
183 x 122 cm
14 15
Untitled LXXXIV, 2023
Acrylic on canvas
16 17
Untitled LXXXVI, 2023
Acrylic on canvas
48 x 48 in. 122 x 122 cm
122
18 19
Untitled LXXXIII, 2023
Acrylic on canvas
48 x 48 in.
x 122 cm
20 21
Untitled XIII, 2007-2009
Acrylic on paper
11.6 x 8.2 in.
29.5 x 21 cm
Untitled XI, 2007-2009
Acrylic on paper
1 x 11.5 in.
36 x 29 cm
22 23
Untitled XII, 2007-2009
Acrylic on paper
8.2 x 11.6 in.
21 x 29.5 cm
Untitled IX, 2007-2009
Acrylic on paper
11.8 x 16.5 in.
30 x 42 cm
Installation images: A World Grows Within, Addis Fine Art London
Born 1977 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
She relocated to Maryland, USA, in 2017 and now lives and works there.
EDUCATION
2002 Addis Ababa University, Alle School Fine Arts and Design, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
SOLO and TWO-PERSON EXHIBITIONS
2024 Bortolami Gallery, New York, NY (forthcoming, 2-person)
2023 Northstar, Addis Fine Art, London, UK
2023 LISTE Basel, Switzerland (solo presentation, June)
2021 Frieze London, with Addis Fine Art, London, UK
2020 The Armory Show, with Addis Fine Art, New York, USA
2019 Beneath the Surface: The Mysteries of Living and Dying, Addis Fine Art, London, UK
2016 Corporeal Contemplation, Addis Fine Art Gallery, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
2015 RedHill Art Gallery, Nairobi, Kenya
2011 Ethiopian National Museum, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2023 Making Their Mark Curated by Cecilia Alemani, New York, USA
2023 Ethiopia at the Crossroads, Walters Art Musuem, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
2022 The 59th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, Venice, Italy
2022 Where Cloudy Waters Collide, with Pippy Houldsworth, London, UK
2021 From Modern to Contemporary: Artists from the Horn of Africa and Diaspora, with CFHILL, Stockholm, Sweden
2013 Art of Ethiopia, Sheraton Hotel Addis, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Ashara, Laphto Gallery, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
2012 Art of Ethiopia, Sheraton Hotel Addis, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
2011 Art of Ethiopia, Sheraton Hotel Addis, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
My Self Portrait, Asni Gallery, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
2010 Art of Ethiopia, Sheraton Hotel Addis, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
Denver Art Museum, Denver, CO, USA
Baltimore Musuem of Art, MD, USA (promised gift)
High Museum of Art, Atlanta, GA, USA (promised gift)
Rachofsky Collection, Dallas, TX, USA
Komal Shah & Gaurav Garg Collection, CA, USA
Inhotim Museum, Brumadinho, Brazil
Fondation H, Antananarivo, Madagascar
PUBLICATIONS
The Milk of Dreams, Catalogue of the 59th International Art Exhibition, By Cecilia Alemani. Published by Silvan, MI, Italy, 2022
Making Their Mark: Art by Women in the Shah Garg Collection , edited by Mark Godfrey and Katy Siegel. Published by Gregory R. Miller & Company, NY, 2024.
African Art Now: 60 Pioneers Defining African Art for the 21st Century by Osei Bonsu. Published by Chronicle Books, CA, 2022.
32 33
MERIKOKEB BERHANU CV
Addis Fine Art is a leading African contemporary art gallery with locations in London and Addis Ababa. The gallery was founded in 2016 by Rakeb Sile and Mesai Haileleul, with a focus on artists from Ethiopia, the Horn of Africa, and its diasporas. Since then, it has championed African artists on the international stage and established itself as a significant voice in the contemporary African art market. It has developed an international programme showcasing mid-career artists through its London gallery space, one of the city's few Black and African-owned art galleries. The gallery's Addis Ababa location has evolved into a regional incubator for undiscovered talent, exhibiting and developing the careers of emerging artists.
Addis Fine Art
21 Eastcastle Street
London W1W 8DD
© 2023 Addis Fine Art
Credits: Addis Fine Art
All images © 2023 Merikokeb Berhanu
Text © 2023 Kate Kirby & Ikenna Malbert
All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Addis Fine Art
Designed by Lucy Harbut
