Some of the most eye-opening travel experiences we can have occur at local, independent art galleries that offer the cutting edge in how artists are interpreting the world around them—nothing beats stumbling upon the next James Turrell or Yayoi Kusama and then following their careers to full-blown fame.
These are the kind of art relationships that last a lifetime. Unfortunately artists from all over have had their gallery shows canceled due to the COVID-19 crisis, so we’ve rounded up the best would-be art shows featuring emerging and under-the-radar artists from some of the most important independent galleries around the world so that you might support their work from afar.
Though the context of just about everything seems to be taking shape around our current crisis, let this serve as a reminder that art has always helped us process and cope with some of the world’s biggest struggles and historic events, from the French Revolution to the most famous art heist in Argentina. Among them are: Liberty, by the Ethiopian Adiskidan Ambaye, that was supposed to be opened at Addis Fine Art – Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Liberty presents Adiskidan’s complexly constructed plywood sculptures that render beautiful, organic-seeming abstract figures that call to mind a tree trunk’s symbolism of time, life, and death in nature.
The works are presented alongside the Ethiopian artist’s sketches and charcoal works on paper, the two practices of which are deeply interwoven for the artist. Addis Fine Art was founded in 2016 and is the city’s first gallery to focus on contemporary Ethiopian art and its diaspora.
The Ethiopian Herald April 10/2020
BY ANNIE WERNER, HERE MAGAZINE
