Zerihun Yetmgeta: biography

Zerihun Yetmgeta
a brief biography

Zerihun was born in Addis Ababa in 1941. His artistic talent was discovered at a young age. While attending boarding school he acquired the nickname "scientist" because he enjoyed working with his hands and making things. When, at the age of fifteen, he won first prize in a national art competition, he knew his destiny was to pursue the life of an artist. He completed high school, and began painting classes at the Empress Menen Handicraft School. A year later he was admitted to the School of Fine Arts in Addis Ababa where he studied from 1963 to 1968. He has been teaching two-dimensional art and graphics at the School of Fine Arts since the early 1970s.

Three artists have had a great impact on Zerihun. Two were his teachers at the School of Fine Arts, Karl Heinz Hansen, a German wood engraver who taught at the School from 1963 to 1966, and Gebre Kristos Desta, who Zerihun regards as Ethiopia's greatest artist. He was also influenced by Skunder (Alexander Boghossian) with whom he shared a studio in the mid-1960s.

The 1974 Revolution in Ethiopia that overthrew Emperor Haile Selassie marked the beginning of a seventeen-year period of military rule and artistic repression. Much of the freedom that artists had enjoyed was supplanted by a strict policy discouraging and at times prohibiting artistic expression that did not conform to the doctrine of social realism. It was an oppressive environment and many of Ethiopia's most gifted artists fled the country to live and work abroad. Zerihun chose to stay. He does not regret doing so because he is passionately committed to staying firmly rooted in Ethiopia and Africa. Even so, he enjoys traveling and finds his visits to other African countries, Europe, and the United States very rewarding. The experiences he has while traveling-the people he meets and the things he sees-stimulate his mind and aesthetic senses. Many of his impressions end up integrated into his art.

Zerihun's studio, which is located within the walls of his compound but stands apart from his house, is a round building, following the basic plan of the traditional Ethiopian church and the houses found in certain parts of Ethiopia. Its exterior is decorated with motifs derived from magic scrolls and its conical roof is surmounted by a finial, like those found on Ethiopian churches. Inside, the walls are covered with his work. Paintings are stacked in a small storage room, bearing testimony to Zerihun's prolific creative drive. Simply looking at a corner of his studio, one can get a sense of what Zerihun is about. There is a map of the world, the cover of a Miles Davis record album, a self-portrait in chalk and one of his wood relief painting titled African Mask Research hang on the wall. He has tremendous empathy for his Ethiopian heritage and his identity as an African, but also sees himself as a citizen of the world.

One can easily observe his passion for history and the cultural heritage of Ethiopia and Africa in many of his works, like in his recent "bamboo strip" painting, Wax and Gold. Here he integrates images of ancient rock art from eastern Ethiopia (ca. 2,000 B.C.), the great stone stele of the Aksumite period (second to eighth centuries A.D.), an Aksumite coin from the fourth-century reign of King Ezana, the cruciform stone church of St. George from Lalibela (thirteenth to fourteenth centuries), motifs from magic scrolls, and Ethiopic script. In addition, his ties with the rest of Africa are represented by renderings of a Akan akua'ba figure from Ghana and one of Zerihun's own mask creations emerging from his study of West and Central African masks.

In international circles, Zerihun is perhaps the best known Ethiopian artist. His works have appeared in international exhibitions for over 25 years. But it is in the last five years that he has received special recognition with his participation in major exhibitions in Switzerland and Cuba. In 1992, he was awarded the prestigious Prix de la Biennale at DAK'ART 92 (the 2nd Biennale Internationale des Arts de Dakar). He also has works in a number of European and American museum collections, as well as in many private collections.