Tesfaye Urgessa
b. 1983, Ethiopia
Born in 1983, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Lives and works in Nürtingen. Tesfaye Urgessa was born in 1983 and lives and works in Germany, having emigrated from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Urgessa's studied under modern master Tadesse Mesfin in Ethiopia, and later graduated from the Staatlichen Akademie in Stuttgart. Through these experiences, Urgessa was able to connect Ethiopian iconography and a deep fascination with traditional figurative painting to create a unique and striking language. His classical figurations with their writhing bodies create distorted psychological tension hidden in domestic settings. Urgessa’s subject matter recalls intertwined representations of race and the politics of identity. His recent series “No Country For Young Men” squeezes queues of refugees into the space of a 180cm by 180cm canvas. Among his most celebrated exhibitions are Oltre/Beyond at The Uffizi Gallerie in Florence in 2018, which also hosts his work in its permanent collection, and Von Denen Die Auszogen at State Galerie Villa Streccius, in Landau Germanu, in 2019.