About
We are happy to present Girmachew Getnet’s first solo exhibition at CFHILL. Having been part of the large-scale survey of art from the Horn of Africa in partnership with Addis Fine Art in 2021, Colors of the Wind dives deeper into Getnet’s artistic and spiritual language.
With influences ranging from African cave art, architecture and sculpture through classical and Renaissance art, up to contemporary art Getnet translates these histories of human expression into striking compositions of figures and colors melting onto the canvas. For this series, the artist has opted for a brown linen canvas upon which he paints his highly symbolic and meditative self-portraits. His expressive brushstrokes exude a vibrant energy in bursting haloes emanating from the busts.
The dual portraits represent a reciprocity and confrontation with the self, and Getnet displays an empathic and humble situational awareness, both in regards to the natural and social environment. His introspective and reflective artistic practice can be likened to a Socractic method, privileging the question as a path to deeper knowledge.