Tesfaye Urgessa Joins White Cube, Expanding International Presence
At the 2024 Venice Biennale, Ethiopian artist Tesfaye Urgessa presented his nation's inaugural national pavilion and has become affiliated with White Cube gallery. A solo exhibition in Hong Kong, featuring new paintings and works on paper, is set to launch in September. Urgessa, who splits his residence between Addis Ababa and Nürtingen, Germany, has garnered global recognition for his striking Black figures and dynamic color compositions. His painting 'Fiber of grace (Schutz) 2' will be showcased at Frieze Seoul in 2025. He earned his education at the Alle School of Fine Art and Design and the Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste, where he received the academy's award in 2014. His art explores themes of identity and belonging, with works held in prominent collections around the globe.
Key facts
- Tesfaye Urgessa joins White Cube gallery.
- First solo exhibition with White Cube in Hong Kong in September.
- Urgessa represented Ethiopia's first national pavilion at the 2024 Venice Biennale.
- Painting 'Fiber of grace (Schutz) 2' to be shown at Frieze Seoul.
- Urgessa studied at Alle School of Fine Art and Design and Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste.
- Received academy prize in 2014.
- 2025 solo exhibitions at Sainsbury Centre and Red Brick Art Museum.
- Works in collections of Brooklyn Museum, Castello di Rivoli, and Uffizi.
Entities
Artists
- Tesfaye Urgessa
- Ikenna Malbert
- Francis Bacon
- Lucian Freud
Institutions
- White Cube
- Alle School of Fine Art and Design
- Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste
- Sainsbury Centre
- Red Brick Art Museum
- Brooklyn Museum
- Castello di Rivoli
- Gallerie degli Uffizi
- Frieze Seoul
- Artsy Vanguard
- White Cube Hong Kong
- Venice Biennale
- La Biennale di Venezia
- Uffizi Galleries
- Cheng-Lan Foundation
- Alle School of Fine Arts and Design
- Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Stuttgart
- Addis Ababa University Alle School of Fine Arts and Design
- Städelschule
Locations
- Addis Ababa
- Ethiopia
- Nürtingen
- Germany
- Hong Kong
- Venice
- Norwich
- Beijing
- Turin
- Florence
- London
- Seoul
- South Korea
- China
- Italy
- Stuttgart
- UK
- New York
- Frankfurt
Sources
- Dasartes —
- Art Plugged —
- Art Daily
- FAD Magazine —
- Artsy —