Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Updated: May 6th, 2020
New York (TADIAS) — Under normal circumstances, New Yorkers and art lovers from around the world would have gathered at this time at Randall’s Island for NYC’s annual Frieze Art Fair, which is one of the biggest art market events in the city. However, with the COVID-19 pandemic keeping city life on pause, the 2020 exhibition has been transformed into a virtual Frieze Viewing Room, which organizers have described as “an ambitious new digital initiative” to be held from May 8-15th and consisting of “more than 200 galleries from across the globe presenting major works by established and emerging artists in a virtual gallery space.”
Addis Fine Art from Ethiopia is among the participating galleries at this year’s Frieze exhibition to showcase new works by Ethiopian American artist Tariku Shiferaw.
Co-Founder of Addis Fine Art, Rakeb Sile, tells the Financial Times that “there is no substitute to seeing art on the walls,” noting that for Tariku as an emerging artist “this was meant to be his big break in his home town.” She emphasizes that “the shift to online has forced a healthy rethink of how best to give a context to Shiferaw’s work — videos on Instagram are among the planned accompanying features.”
According to Addis Fine Art gallery Tariku Shiferaw’s (b.1983) “ongoing series One of These Black Boys, explores painting and societal structures through mark-making. Taking the names of songs from Hip-Hop, R&B, Jazz, Blues, and Reggae music, Shiferaw makes paintings that embody the experiences and struggles expressed through music by Black artists and composers. He often explores a spectrum of topics ranging from the notion of Black bodies in a white social construct to the popular idioms of romance, sex, and daily life – existence.”
Below is Tariku Shiferaw’ biography courtesy of Addis Fine Art:
Shiferaw studied for his Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) at the University of Southern California (USC) in 2007 and later attained his MFA at Parsons The New School for Design in 2015. Shiferaw’s current exhibitions include “Men of Change” – a three-year nationally traveling exhibition with the Smithsonian Institution, as well as “Unbound”, a group exhibition at the Zuckerman Museum of Art. Shiferaw has exhibited at the Whitney Museum of American Art, Museum of Contemporary Art Cleveland, and The Drawing Center. In 2017, he had his first international solo show titled, “Erase Me”, at Addis Fine Art, London. In 2018, he presented his largest installation work to date in a solo exhibition titled, “This Ain’t Safe” at Cathouse Proper, in Brooklyn. Shiferaw participated in the Independent Study Program at the Whitney Museum of American Art (studio), in Open Sessions at the Drawing Center, and he was artist-in-residence at the LES Studio Program in New York City. In 2020, he will partake in an artist residency at the World Trade Center through Silver Art Projects.
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If You Attend:
FRIEZE VIEWING ROOM
VIP Days (by invitation)
Wednesday, 6 May 2020
Thursday, 7 May 2020
Public Days
8 – 15 May 2020
https://frieze.com/fairs/frieze-viewing-room
Related:
The Quarantine Tapes featuring Artist Julie Mehretu
Two Must See NYC Virtual Exhibitions Featuring Ethiopian Artists
Art in the Time of Coronavirus: Guide to Virtual Exhibitions from Ethiopia to U.S.