Tadesse Mesfin Catalogue by AddisFineArt1

Tadesse Mesfin

Tadesse Mesfin’s work celebrates the women vendors who work in markets across Ethiopia. Typically overlooked by society, Tadesse elevates their stature in his paintings. Capturing them in moments of contemplative stillness, he celebrates their essential role as the pillars of daily life.

Incorporating the Ethiopian Modernist tradition of including Amharic alphabetic script in paintings, Tadesse interprets the human figures as a type of lettering, the figures echoing the vertical loops and angles of Amharic text. In this way, the subjects of his work can be perceived as their own type of meaning makers, not merely passive beings, but actively participating in the creation of their environment. In the artist’s words, ‘through repetition they have become my symbols, my language.’

Tadesse Mesfin (b. 1953) developed his love of painting during his childhood following his family’s move to Addis Ababa, when he started work at a cinema hall painting posters for movies. At the age of fifteen, he enrolled in art school in the Ethiopian capital, and after five years of study he went on to Russia to complete his Masters of Fine Art at the Leningrad Academy of Painting, Architecture, and Sculpture. It was here that he synthesised the stoicism of Soviet social realism with his interest in West African masks and symbols. He has also continued to nourish his Ethiopian influences throughout his career, and his research on Coptic iconography and Ethiopian history remains a significant source of inspiration for his practice.

Tadesse Mesfin was a professor at the Addis Ababa University Alle School of Fine Arts and Design from 1984 to 2019, and has taught and mentored many of Ethiopia's renowned contemporary artists, including Merikokeb Berhanu and Tesfaye Urgessa. His work has been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions in London, Addis Ababa, New York, Stockholm, Lagos, Dubai, and Johannesburg.

Reciprocity II , 2024

Oil on canvas

180 x 145 cm

Nibbles, 2024

Oil on canvas

180 x 120 cm

Column of Rhythm IX , 2022 Oil on canvas

130 x 195 cm

Column of Rhythm X , 2022

Oil on canvas

130 x 162 cm

Pillars of Life: My Sisters Keeper II, 2021

Oil on canvas

165 x 170 cm

Pillars of Life: Saturday Market IX, 2021

Oil on canvas

162 x 130 cm

Pillars of Life: Guleet VI, 2021

Oil on canvas

146 x 114 cm

Pillars of Life: Faith II, 2020

Oil on canvas

116 x 89 cm

Pillars of Life: My Sister’s Keeper II, 2020 Oil on canvas

100 x 81 cm

Pillars of Life: Guleet, 2018 Oil on Canvas

195 x 130 cm

Pillars of Life: Market Day, 2018

Oil on Canvas

140 x 200 cm

Expectations, 2013

Oil on Canvas

97 x 130 cm

Composition, 1987

Oil on canvas

45 x 49 cm

How Far Can You Go, 1973

Oil on board

48.5 x 40 cm

Born in Wollo Province, Ethiopia in 1953. Currently lives and works in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

EDUCATION

1972 BFA, Alle School of Fine Art, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

1984 MFA, Leningrad Academy of Painting, Architecture, and Sculpture, St. Peters burg, Russia

1984-2019 Professorship at Alle School of Fine Art, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2024 Where We Coalesce Addis Fine Art x Vigo Gallery, Addis Fine Art, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Where We Coalesce Addis Fine Art x Vigo Gallery, Vigo Gallery, London, UK

2022 Column of Rhythm , Addis Fine Art, London, UK

2020 Pillars of Life , Addis Fine Art Project Space, London, UK

2018 Pillars of Life: The Power and Grace of Market Life , Addis Fine Art, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

2014 In Search of Rhythm Alliance Ethio-Française, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

SELECTED GROUP SHOWS

2024 Connected Threads , Addis Fine Art at NADA Exhibition Space, New York, USA

2023 Coalescent Lights , 1-54 Presents in Collaboration with Christie’s, Hong Kong

2022 Eye of the Collector with Addis Fine Art, London, UK

2021 From Modern to Contemporary: Artists from the Horn of Africa and Diaspora , with CFHILL, Stockholm, Sweden

Art Dubai with Addis Fine Art, Dubai, UAE

2020 Art Dubai with Addis Fine Art, Dubai, UAE

2019 Art Dubai with Addis Fine Art, Dubai, UAE

1-54 Contemporary Art Fair with Addis Fine Art, London, UK

2018 Art X Lagos with Addis Fine Art, Lagos, Nigeria

FNB Joburg Art Fair with Addis Fine Art, Johannesburg, South Africa

2013 Art of Ethiopia Sheraton Hotel Addis, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

2010 Art of Ethiopia Sheraton Hotel Addis, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

2007 Continuity and Change: Three Generations of Ethiopian Artists , Samuel P. Harn Museum of Art, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA

2007 Four Points: African Contemporary , Pounder-Koné Art Space, Atwater Village, California, USA

1977 Second World Black and African Festival of Art and Culture (FESTAC 77), Lagos, Nigeria

FELLOWSHIPS, RESIDENCES, AND AWARDS

1998 Mid-American Arts (MAA) Allianceship Fellowship

1999 Ethiopian Fine Arts & Mass Media Prize for Painting

Addis Fine Art is a leading African contemporary art gallery based in 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, with Artsy dubbing it one of the “Most Important Young Galleries in the World” (Artsy 2019). It has developed an international programme showcasing emerging and midcareer artists. The gallery's Addis Ababa location has evolved into a regional incubator for undiscovered talent, exhibiting and developing the careers of emerging artists. Working alongside other local galleries and foundations, Addis Fine Art works to promote sustainable art ecosystems from the continent.

Credits:

Addis Fine Art

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