KALEAB ABATE

Layering functions as both method and metaphor in Abate’s practice. It becomes a way to imagine the complex depths of the stories embedded within bodies, objects, and environments. His compositions are populated by distorted figures, erratic shapes, and unexpected textures that merge figurative, realist, abstract, and surreal forms into a cohesive visual language.

Abate’s recent works reflect the turbulence of Addis Ababa, a city in rapid transition. Fragmented figures and surreal forms mirror the dissonance of an urban landscape shaped by accelerated development and cultural rupture - an environment that reshapes collective memory, cultural identity, and everyday human connection. Within this discourse, nostalgia becomes an important means: Not a retreat into the past but a strategy of endurance, a resource amid constant change. Insisting on resilience, his work reassembles fragments into new, unfinished constellations of meaning.

The artsits’ inquiry culminates in the creation of Addisalem, a recurring character named after the Amharic word for “new world.” Embodying the spirit of Addis Ababa, Addisalem gives the city a voice; a character the artist can question, confide in, and converse with. Through her, the city becomes a living presence, at once familiar and mysterious, inviting dialogue on memory, change, and survival.

Abate graduated from the renowned Ale School of Fine Arts and Design in Addis Ababa in 2021, and completed the Silhouette Projects residency at Afriart Gallery, Kampala in 2022. Notable exhibitions include More Than Meets the Eye at Rele Gallery, London (2024), Form and Fantasy at Afriart Gallery, Kampala (2024), and Eastern Voices – Contemporary Artists from East Africa at Addis Fine Art, London (2023). He has participated in major art fairs such as Art Basel Miami Beach, 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair London, Art X Lagos, INVESTEC Cape Town Art Fair, and held a solo presentation at Art on Paper Brussels in 2023.