Merikokeb Berhanu

In her creations, Merikokeb Berhanu incorporates a space without depth, where figures and expanses of single-tone geometric shapes float, overlapping and intertwining with each other.

Biography of Merikokeb Berhanu

Merikokeb Berhanu was born in 1977 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Captivated by painting from a young age, she pursued her studies at the Addis Ababa University, Alle School Fine Arts and Design, graduating in 2002. During her studies, she focused on painting under the guidance of a generation of Ethiopian modernist painters, including Tadesse Mesfin.

After completing her degree, Merikokeb, along with her peers, established an artist-run studio and exhibition space named Nubia Studio in 2004. The aim was to enhance their visibility and create long-term career opportunities in a region where the arts have historically been under-supported.

In 2017, the artist relocated to Maryland, USA, where she continues to live and work.

Merikokeb Berhanu's paintings have been featured in numerous solo and group shows. Her recent solo exhibitions include a Solo Presentation at LISTE Basel in Switzerland (2023), "Beneath the Surface: The Mysteries of Living and Dying" at  Addis Fine Art Project Space in London (2019), "Corporeal Contemplation" at Addis Fine Art Gallery in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (2016), and many more.

The artist has also participated in various group exhibitions, including The 59th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia in Venice, Italy (2022), "Where Cloudy Waters Collide" with Pippy Houldsworth in London, UK (2022), "From Modern to Contemporary: Artists from the Horn of Africa and Diaspora" with CFHILL in Stockholm, Sweden (2021), "Art of Ethiopia" at Sheraton Hotel Addis in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (2013), and many more.

Merikokeb Berhanu's Art Style

While firmly grounded in the robust tradition of painting that shapes much of the current art education in her home country, Berhanu's artistic approach goes beyond the easily identifiable figurative "Ethiopian style" that emerged due to the country's extended periods of artistic, cultural, and political isolation.

In her paintings, abstract forms and intricate backgrounds intertwine with recurring recognizable elements, such as ripened fruit, blooming flowers, and stylized human forms. Drawing inspiration from her surroundings and delving into her emotional state, her works explore vibrant imagery that reflects aspects of everyday life.

Elements from contemporary urban life—aged structures made of corrugated iron sheets, masked sweepers, and ghostlike silhouettes—merge with the fabric and landscape of the countryside, emphasizing the persistent tension arising from rapid urbanization. Often influenced by her dreams, heightened by the rich, saturated colors on her canvases, her artistic practice explores an intensely personal world depicted through abstract, tightly composed elements pushed to the forefront of the picture plane.

Merikokeb Berhanu's relocation to the USA in 2017 marked a period of abrupt and profound change in all facets of her life, a transition that is particularly evident in her paintings. Although her art has consistently centered on lifeforms and biomorphic imagery, at this point, she increasingly embraced the more vibrant hues that characterize her latest works. New symbols, such as a circuit board structure and the skeletal remains of fish, began to emerge in Berhanu's creations as she wrestled with the consequences of a society detached from nature.