Ermias Kefleyesus
Ermias Kefleyesus
12 November – 11 December 2021
Cascade of Knowledge
Ermias Kifleyesus
Ermias Kifleyesus is inspired by the phenomenal properties of oil paint especially when it is used to highlight and explore ambiguities of reality. In his current exhibition Cascade of Knowledge at Addis Fine Art, London the paintings demand time, respect and interpretation from viewers.
Kifleyesus works and lives in the liminal state of his personal history. He is separated from his language and culture of Ethiopia and now as a Belgian citizen he could be termed a European artist-ethnographer. Kifleyesus makes art that is emotional and complex while proclaiming for painting itself. All of the works in this exhibition were made in his Brussel’s studio between 2019 –2021 and can be experienced through the interweaving of colour, technical mystery and rhythm because they depend on a level of interest that provides intangible experiences connected to painterly tensions while balancing and interacting with each other.
6
165 × 129.5 cm
8
Valiant , 2021
Mixed media
9
10
Valiant , 2021
Mixed media
104 × 130 cm
11
12
Denkenesh , 2021
Mixed media
106 × 90 cm
13
14
15
The Glasshouse and the Ants Hill, 2021 Mixed media 190 × 172 cm
16
Dallol Queen , 2021 Mixed media
190 × 172 cm
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18
19 Touch , 2021 Mixed media 72 × 52 cm
20
Mythos , 2021 Mixed media 70 × 90 cm
21
22
23
Exit , 2021 Mixed media 205 × 147 cm
Regard, 2021
Mixed media
159 × 182 cm
24
25
26
Mixed media
127 × 94 cm
27
Picasso, 2021
28
Pareidolia, 2021
Mixed media
184 × 132 cm
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30
Perseverance, 2021
Mixed media
60 × 76 cm
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32
One Blade, 2021
Mixed media
112 × 84 cm
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35 Book to Vision, 2021 Mixed media 70 × 90 cm
In 2016, Rakeb Sile and Mesai Haileleul co-founded Addis Fine Art, creating the first white-cube gallery space for modern and contemporary art in Ethiopia. Described as one of the “Most Important Young Galleries in the World” (Artsy 2019), the gallery has since then grown to become one of the leading galleries in Africa, establishing a prominent international platform for artists from the Horn of Africa.
In October 2021, Addis Fine Art London moved into expanded premises in Eastcastle Street, opening a two-storey gallery space in the heart of Fitzrovia. The London gallery programme will encapsulate Addis Fine Art’s commitment to heightened international exposure for, and critical reappraisal of, African art on the world stage. The gallery’s Addis Ababa space will continue to be an incubator for emerging talent, facilitating critical engagement within the local market and encouraging the growth and development of the artworld ecosystem on the continent. The gallery will also serve as a space for artists from the diaspora to return to the continent and share and develop their practice.
Published by Addis Fine Art on the occasion of Ermias Kefleyesus Cascade of Knowledge
12 November – 11 December 2021
Addis Fine Art
21 Eastcastle Street
London W1W 8DD
© 2022 Addis Fine Art
Credits:
Daphne Astor
Ikenna Malbert
All images © 2022 Ermias Kefleyesus
Text © 2022 Kate Kirby, Sales Manager, Addis
Fine Art
Photograph of Ermias Kifleyesus in the studio, courtesy of Michael De Lausnay and Addis
Fine Art
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
Printed by Dayfold
