Addis Gezehagn

Floating city XIII, 2019

Unique Artwork

Mixed media

Acrylic and paper on canvas
150 x 170 cm

CM H 170 W 150

IN H 66.93 W 59.06

Certificate of authenticity - Signed by artist

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About the work

Floating city XIII, 2019

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.

About artist

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 havi...

About Gallery

Addis Fine Art

Founded in 2016 by Rakeb Sile and Mesai Haileleul, Addis Fine Art is a pioneering gallery based in Addis Ababa and London. Listed as one of the "Most Important Galleries in the World" (Artsy 2019), it is the very first local white cube space and international platform based in Ethiopia. The gallery focuses on highlighting modern and contemporary fine art from the Horn of Africa region and its Diasporas.

January 2016 saw the opening of the gallery's main space in the heart of Addis Ababa, showing a diverse set of modern and contemporary artists. In October 2016, the AFA Project Space was opened in London to expand the international programme centered around the Diaspora voices. In Spring of 2020, the London gallery will move to a permanent office space and full programme in Cromwell Place, a first-of-its-kind exhibition space in Kensington, London.

In it's short history, Addis Fine Art has become one of the leading galleries from Africa, facilitating critical engagement with the local and mainstream art markets, championing an underrepresented, yet rich space in modern and contemporary fine art.

Addis Fine Art Gallery
3rd Floor Woldfiker Building
Bole Medhane Alem, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Monday - Saturday // 10am-1pm & 2-6pm
Tel: +251 980 635 696

Addis Fine Art London
1 - 5 Cromwell Place
South Kensington, London SW7 2JE
*Opening Spring 2020
Tel: +44 203 488 0822