Addis Ababa-based painter Selome Muleta (b. 1992) crafts rich internal worlds through the colour-laden interior scenes of her canvases, which frequently depict women in states of inner reflection.
The gestural, loose quality of her strokes, coupled with her sophisticated blending of pastels with vibrant shades of crimson and green, creates an atmosphere both quiet and complex. Selome employs translucent washes of hue to create a sense of contemplative unity between her subjects and their respective environments. At times, the faces of her characters are obscured or cropped, and the viewer is invited instead to focus on the sparse array of objects that decorate the room. A drooping plant, a dozing feline companion, a distant crooked framed portrait – the line between living and non-living objects becomes blurred, and the viewer is encouraged instead to focus on the sheer physicality of being.
She has been included in numerous solo and group exhibitions in London, Basel, Addis Ababa, and Cape Town. Her work is in the permanent collections of Nasjonalmuseet, Oslo, Norway, and the Denver Museum of Art, Denver, CO.