Addis Gezehagn, a long-time artistic presence in Addis Ababa, is known for portraying the multifaceted characteristics of the city’s residents by detailing the external facades of their homes. Gezehagn’s dream-like and deconstructed works blur the boundaries of fantasy and the reality of urban life. The rootless and ephemeral nature of his layered and crumbling towers traces the patterns of classism and social injustice inherent to the city and the social injustice prevalent in neighbourhoods such as Kasanchis, Piassa and Arat Kilo.These compositions made by layering magazine cut-outs with acrylic paint, blend the boundaries of fantasy and reality of urban life, blurring the lines between the past, present, and future.

Gezehagn graduated from the Addis Ababa University School of Fine Arts and Design with a Diploma and BFA in 2011. His first international exhibition was in 2017 at 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair, London which was received with great acclaim. Since then, he has gone from strength to strength, garnering more international interest after having his first sold out solo show at Addis Fine Art’s main gallery in Addis Ababa in 2018 followed by 1-54 Contemporary Art Fair London (2018) and Art Dubai (2019).