Catalogue ›Colours of Utopia‹ Girmachew Getnet | Lachenmann Art

Catalogue for the solo exhibition by the Ethiopian artist Girmachew Getnet ›Colours of Utopia‹, which took place from September 2023 to January 2024 at the Lachenmann Art Gallery in Frankfurt and from October 2023 to January 2024 at the Lachenmann Art Gallery in Konstanz. Texts by the art historian and gallery owner Juliane Lachenmann and the Lachenmann Art Team.

With the title of this exhibition, ›Colours of Utopia‹, Girmachew Getnet wants to indicate where the artist is currently on his journey of self-discovery and what inner dialogue he is having with himself and the spiritual world. Getnet works primarily on large-format canvases. In his paintings and drawings, he combines human figures and colours explosively on the surface of the untreated, rough linen in impressive compositions. He draws his inspiration from the interaction of humans with nature and the universe, while his creativity is fed by curiosity about the real and the exploration of the unknown. The focus of his works is always the heads of the figures depicted, which are either clearly self-portraits or the representation of different characters of the self. Swirls of strong, bright colours radiate from them into the picture space, reminiscent of a halo. The intensity of the individual colours is enhanced by the precision of each expressive brushstroke, each explicitly positioned and at the same time free in its individual gesture.

For Girmachew Getnet, the act of painting is part of a profound and liberating experience of self-discovery. When this culminates in a confrontation with one's own self, he depicts this inner dialogue with a double portrait facing oneself. Strong figures and metaphorical elements lead the viewer on this inner journey, in which references to the art of the African continent, its colors and its culture go hand in hand with an imaginary journey into the soul of the artist and the power of creativity.

Girmachew Getnet (born 1980 in Ethiopia) graduated from the Addis Ababa Fine Arts and Design School in 2001. Shortly thereafter, he founded the first art studio in the Ethiopian capital, the Habesha Art Studio. He lives and works in Frankfurt.

Discover the works of Girmachew Getnet