ARTIST STATEMENT

I work primarily in an abstract, expression mode, with a preference for the rigors of an austere palette of colors with black and white. My work frequently includes dynamic, sweeping brushstrokes of acrylic paint or black ink on canvas that characterize much of my soulful. It’s often noted that my paintings convey a controlled but dynamic sense of movement. Many paintings take shape while I am semi-asleep. When I awake, the painting is usually close to being finished. Then I go into the studio and put my ideas on canvas or paper. The brush and flow find their way onto the surface. Mistakes or accidents often turn out to be fortuitous and usually remain.

 Although much of my work is abstract, my creative range is wide. I will from time to time revert to the realism in which I was trained as painter in ALLE SCHOOL OF FINE ART AND DESIGN, sometimes inserting realism into semi-abstract backgrounds, sometimes capturing the reflection of colors from windows in a series of black and white drawings. My drawing are executed in balance of brilliant shapes are quite playful. My limited edition prints, from a series called ‘Attitudes’ are highly suggestive of iconographic art and influenced by Ethiopian orthodox religious tradition.

 No matter how many paintings I have completed, every painting is still an experiment to me. I don’t want to know how my painting will end. I want the surprise of finding the end, sometimes quite by accident.

 I try to reach beyond myself by creating a mental challenge to combine materials that are unlikely to be combined, colors that are unlikely to go well, spatial arrangements that are surprising, and then turn these unlikely components into a finished piece of art that is satisfying to both the artist and ultimately, the viewer. I generally do my paintings in a series, painting 4-12 or more canvases in a particular vein before moving on to another challenge. My work is exhibited nationally in both solo and group shows.

Currently I am dividing my time between a numbers of projects: Wattage, my experiments in automatic form composition. The temporal quality of the stoke, alluding to the passage of time, and the ephemeral nature of the composition itself, all speaks to a place in me that craves more connection to the color blind world.

BIOGRAPHY

Yosefatskelewi (b. 1997, Addis Ababa), graduated from the Addis Ababa University, Alle School of Fine Arts and Design in 2009 and was trained by an elite group of Modernist artists at the influential art school.

In the emotions and in the human condition, Yosef draws inspiration from the colors and darkness of his life. Although he lived and worked mostly in the city, the ideas in his work stemmed from his innermost feelings. Joseph explained that he had closed himself to the outside experiences that have accompanied him through various stages of his life. His works of art are about time and space; Instead, they are somewhere between consciousness and perception.

Yosef used recurring themes, from personal themes to personal concepts and emotions. For example, he expresses his thoughts in a way that is more intimate, comparing emotions with more than words in everyday life.

Yosef reminds us that all life is intertwined. He seeks to create opposition to the imbalances and injustices he sees in the world around him. The embryo, another recurring symbol, represents the care and healing of a person’s inner feelings and emotions. Yosef also left his work without a title, showing ambiguity in his work, allowing the viewer to interpret the figurative language for himself.

In addition to the influence of Ethiopian modernity, Yosef’s work echoes Western abstract expression artists such as Clifford Steel and Franz Klein in the twentieth century. Joseph’s attempt to represent the inner world seems to indicate his desire to escape reality by expressing his personal dreams and visions in color, shape, and composition. However, despite such visual references to European artistic movements, it is the world in Yosef’s experience. It uses this synchronized view to create space in the current discourse in contemporary art.

EDUCATION

2016-2019  BFA from Addis Ababa university alle school of Fine art and design

2015-2016 enlightenment art academy Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

2017-2022  bachelor of architecture from addis college Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

CERTIFICATE AND APPRICATION

2017 From commercial bank participation certificate.

2021 From redam the generation participation certificate.

2020 From Lautenberg art competition participation certificate.

2019 From Red Cross exhibition participation certificate.

2020 zervas international master class 5th Paris art fair

STUDIO ARTS EXPERIENCE

 2009 – present Professional studio artist: painting. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

SELECT SOLO EXHIBITIONS

2022 serching: fendika cultural center

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

2018 Alle school of fine arts and design, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

2019 Commercial bank of Addis Ababa Ethiopia.

2019 Alliance Ethio-franchise Addis Ababa Ethiopia.

2020 SHEBA ARE GALLARY, Addis Ababa Ethiopia.

2020 ENTOTO FINE ART CENTER, Addis Ababa Ethiopia.

2021 MAKUSHI art gallery, Addis Ababa Ethiopia.

2022 HILTON BIG ART SAIL, Addis Ababa Ethiopia.

2022 ENTOTO art gallery, Addis Ababa Ethiopia.

2021  SIDAMA LOUGE AND ART gallery, Addis Ababa Ethiopia.

WORKSHOP AND ART RESIDENCE

2019 art residence at welaytasode, Ethiopia. Work shop.

2022 WORKSHOP ENTOTO FINE ART CENTER 2022.