Ermias Kifleyesus is inspired by the phenomenal properties of oil paint especially when it is used to highlight and explore ambiguities of reality. In his current exhibition Cascade of Knowledge at Addis Fine Art, London the paintings demand time, respect and interpretation from viewers.
Kifleyesus works and lives in the liminal state of his personal history. He is separated from his language and culture of Ethiopia and now as a Belgian citizen he could be termed a European artist-ethnographer. Kifleyesus makes art that is emotional and complex while proclaiming for painting itself. All of the works in this exhibition were made in his Brussel’s studio between 2019 – 2021 and can be experienced through the interweaving of colour, technical mystery and rhythm because they depend on a level of interest that provides intangible experiences connected to painterly tensions while balancing and interacting with each other.
