Circle Art Auction 2015 Lot 49 Ephrem Solomon

Ephrem Solomon (Ethiopian, born 1983)
Untitled from the Forbidden Fruit series, 2015
Signed ‘signature’ (verso centre)
Wood cut and mixed media
85 x 85 cm

Ksh 459,800-556,600
(US$ 4,180–5,060)
Sold Ksh 493,080

Provenance: direct from the artist

Ephrem Solomon creates inquisitive works using wood cut panels and mixed media based on his socio-political observations of contemporary Addis Ababa. Trained in traditional printmaking, Solomon uses the carved marks to make constructed portraits informed by the people who inhabit the spaces around him, creating figures that can be recognized, but are also invisible in society. “They can be me or you. They are anyone” he says.

Solomon graduated with a diploma in fine art and graphic design from Entoto Art School in Addis Ababa. In 2014 he had his first solo exhibition in the UK at Tiwani Contemporary, London. Group exhibitions include Pangaea II: New art from Africa and Latin America, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK, 2015 and Contemporary African Art and its Caricature, Japan, 2012. His work is in private collections in Dubai, UAE, Kenya, South Africa and the UK, including the Saatchi Collection.