German

For the May 2004 exhibition African women artists living in Germany, we exhibit the work of Yenatfenta Abate, a young artist from Ethiopia, next to the work of three other female artists.

Abate's style strongly hearkens back to the Art Academy of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where a great deal of value is placed on a fundamental education of strong draftsmanship and handicraft skills. Here, we stress a geographic point of departure.

Since her graduation in 1996 and subsequent relocation to Hamburg, Abate has embarked on a path of artistic development that must confront the expectations of the German art viewer, as the idea of beauty takes more weight in classical Ethiopian art education than it does in Europe. In Germany, where the contemporary discourse presently focuses on an expanded idea of art, the works appear conservative at first. Yet, with the new acceptance of painting, we assume that other more traditional disciplines, such as drawing, may experience a revival or renaissance through which Abate could profit.