Tesfaye Bekele marks a decade of work with a new solo exhibition
Ten years ago, Tesfaye Bekele fulfilled a childhood ambition with his debut exhibition in Addis Ababa. The modest show, staged in the capital, doubled as a collective moment: a gathering of young, emerging painters from across the city’s neighborhoods, testing their voices in a shared creative space.
A decade later, Tesfaye returns with a more assured and expansive body of work.
Addis Fine Arts (AFA) is currently presenting its latest exhibition, Moments of Change, a collection of 17 abstract paintings that opened on January 10 and will run through February. The exhibition marks his second solo presentation at the gallery and aligns with AFA’s broader mission to position African artists within global contemporary art circuits while nurturing emerging local talent.
In Moments of Change, Tesfaye turns to nature—not as scenery, but as a conceptual framework. Seasonal transitions anchor the exhibition, serving as metaphors for human experience. Across shifting fields of color and texture, time is rendered not as a linear measurement but as a physical sensation, something felt in the body rather than counted.
Weather, in this body of work, becomes a stand-in for the human condition. The volatility of rain, heat, and renewal mirrors themes that recur throughout Tesfaye’s practice: bodily limitation, endurance, and quiet resilience.
His paintings are built through dense accumulations of dots and lines, layered patiently to evoke the sensory presence of flora. At times, the compositions resemble landscapes seen from above—fields after rainfall, aerial maps, even distant constellations. Working primarily with acrylics on canvas and textiles, Tesfaye’s choice of fabric is deliberate. The material functions as a subtle reference to physical vulnerability, effort, and the need for care.
Grew-up in Addis Ababa, Tesfaye is both an artist and an educator. He earned his degree in Art Education from Addis Ababa University’s Alle School of Fine Arts and Design in 2010 and is currently a faculty member at the School of Fine Arts. His work has since been exhibited in Ethiopia and abroad, including in Kenya, Japan, Germany, Norway, and Austria.
He credits his formal training for enabling him to navigate both local and international art spaces.
“My childhood ambition to become a visual artist began to take shape when I joined the Alle School of Fine Arts,” he said. “The education and training I received there helped me exhibit dozens of works, both in Ethiopia and internationally.”
Today, Tesfaye works as a full-time visual artist, relying on his practice as a primary source of income. His production process combines research with experimentation, guided by an awareness of international markets and audiences. Alongside two-dimensional painting, his portfolio includes artistic video works, developed through workshops where conceptual ideas are translated into visual form.
Over the past decade, he has held more than twenty exhibitions.
The 17 paintings currently on view at AFA were produced over four years. All revolve around seasonal conditions and the constraints they impose. “In this exhibition,” Tesfaye said, “I present my conversation with seasons and seasonal change.”
Among the works, he singles out two as particularly significant. Threshold of Being reflects his memories of recurring seasonal shifts, with a focus on summer. Composed from a top-down perspective, the painting recalls soil darkened by rainfall. Tesfaye notes that many people maintain an intimate emotional relationship with seasons—especially the rainy months.
The second, Accumulated Can, uses linear forms to suggest an excess of human emotion. While he acknowledges that artistic preferences vary across generations, abstraction remains central to his practice. “Threshold of Being and Accumulated Can are the clearest expressions of my style,” he said.
Despite growing recognition, challenges persist.
Pricing artwork remains a persistent dilemma for emerging artists. Tesfaye calculates prices based on time and labor, but concedes that the relationship between monetary value and artistic worth is widely contested and lacks standardization.
Logistical constraints pose another obstacle. Without a dedicated studio, he currently works from his family home, where limited space has begun to affect his productivity. “I need a comfortable, professional workspace,” he said, noting that canvases are often damaged due to cramped conditions.
He also points to broader structural issues, including limited public awareness and appreciation of fine art in Ethiopia. The culture of collecting original artwork remains underdeveloped, he said, making institutions like Addis Fine Arts critical intermediaries between local artists and international audiences.
Tesfaye recently returned from Japan and is already planning his next steps. Upcoming projects include solo exhibitions in Japan and France, part of an effort to expand his global presence.
Mesai Haileleul, co-founder of Addis Fine Arts, said the gallery operates on a long-term collaboration model rather than one-off exhibitions. Artist selection is managed by teams in Addis Ababa and London, focusing on sustained professional development and international exposure.
“The artist must demonstrate serious commitment and be ready for a long-term working relationship,” he said, adding that Tesfaye’s exhibition is the result of ongoing collaboration.
According to Mesai, AFA expects between 150 and 200 visitors during the exhibition’s run. The gallery covers exhibition and promotional costs and receives a commission on sales, with proceeds shared under pre-agreed terms.
Ten years after his first exhibition in the capital, Tesfaye’s journey reflects both artistic maturation and structural constraint. His career now spans continents, yet his work remains grounded in the physicality of place, body, and season—an ongoing negotiation between creative vision and material vulnerability.
