Addis Fine Art company logo
Addis Fine Art
Skip to main content
  • Menu
  • Artists
  • Exhibitions
  • Art fairs
  • Viewing Rooms
  • News
  • Press
  • Video
  • About
  • Contact
Menu

Meklit: Lulseged Retta

Past exhibition
23 September - 9 November 2019 Addis Ababa
  • Overview
  • Works
  • Installation Views
  • Videos
Overview
Lulseged Retta, Setate, 2010

Lulseged Retta, Setate, 2010

Addis Fine Art is pleased to present, Lulseged Retta’s first solo exhibition with the gallery. The show will take place at the Addis Fine Art Gallery in Addis Ababa from Monday 23 September – 9 November 2019 and 10 am – 1 pm & 2 – 6 pm.

 

Lulseged Retta (b. 1952) is one of Ethiopia’s preeminent contemporary painters. His work amalgamates and reimagines traditional Ethiopian artistic themes and modernist styles, harmoniously coalesced for a present-day audience. Lulseged is informed by a multitude of influences, including Ethiopian Orthodox Church art, his passion for music, which he rhythmically infuses into his compositions, and his own philosophical interpretation of modern-day Ethiopian life. Retaining and re-appreciating Ethiopian culture is a principle motif for Lulseged; “We have enough culture, beauty and relics of our own. What we have to do is nurture it and preserve it.” Distinctive iconography can be found throughout Lulseged works, such as the physiognomy of the “African mask”, and characteristically large oval shaped eyes which protrude from many of his canvases. These eyes, for Lulseged, represent “everything, a symbol of wisdom, beauty and innocence”. Moreover, historically the expressive and exaggeratedly depicted eyes have a long history in Ethiopian art, creating a “reversal gaze”; the painting itself is watching the observer.

 

Lulseged attended Addis Ababa School of Fine Arts before graduating with a diploma and moving to the then USSR in the 1980s, in order to complete an MFA at the Academy of Art Repina (now modern-day St Petersburg). He has since become one of Ethiopia’s most prolific painters. He has also been curator of "Art of Ethiopia", an annual exhibition held at the Sheraton Addis Ababa, for the last twelve years. 

Download Press Release
Works
  • Lulseged Retta, Azmari, 2013
    Lulseged Retta, Azmari, 2013
  • Lulseged Retta, Shirkoch, 2018
    Lulseged Retta, Shirkoch, 2018
  • Lulseged Retta, Mystic, 2016
    Lulseged Retta, Mystic, 2016
  • Lulseged Retta, Ashara , 2016
    Lulseged Retta, Ashara , 2016
  • Lulseged Retta, Kahenat , 2016
    Lulseged Retta, Kahenat , 2016
  • Lulseged Retta, Foreseeing, 2017
    Lulseged Retta, Foreseeing, 2017
  • Lulseged Retta, Grinding, 2018
    Lulseged Retta, Grinding, 2018
  • Lulseged Retta, Celebration, 2017
    Lulseged Retta, Celebration, 2017
  • Lulseged Retta, Tiyeka, 2012
    Lulseged Retta, Tiyeka, 2012
  • Lulseged Retta, Asqual , 2018
    Lulseged Retta, Asqual , 2018
  • Lulseged Retta, Birile, 2019
    Lulseged Retta, Birile, 2019
  • Lulseged Retta, Gedamay, 2017
    Lulseged Retta, Gedamay, 2017
  • Lulseged Retta, Rhythm, 2019
    Lulseged Retta, Rhythm, 2019
  • Lulseged Retta, Setate, 2010

    Lulseged Retta, Setate, 2010

  • Lulseged Retta, Asgary , 2019
    Lulseged Retta, Asgary , 2019
  • Lulseged Retta, Zemenay, 2012
    Lulseged Retta, Zemenay, 2012
Installation Views
  • Lulseged Retta Sept 2019 002
  • Lulseged Retta Sept 2019 021
  • Lulseged Retta Sept 2019 054
  • Lulseged Retta Sept 2019 049
  • Lulseged Retta Sept 2019 019
Videos
  • Lulseged Retta | Meklit

    Lulseged Retta | Meklit

    Lulseged Retta Read more

Related artist

  • Lulseged Retta

    Lulseged Retta

Back to exhibitions
Privacy Policy
Copyright © 2021 Addis Fine Art
Site by Artlogic
Facebook, opens in a new tab.
Twitter, opens in a new tab.
Instagram, opens in a new tab.
Artsy, opens in a new tab.
Join the mailing list
Send an email
Close

Join our mailing list

Interests *

Signup

In order to respond to your enquiry, we will process the personal data you have supplied in accordance with our privacy policy. You can unsubscribe or change your preferences at any time by clicking the link in any emails.