Background
Afewerk Tekle was born on October 22, 1932 in Ankober, Ethiopia, into the family of Feleketch Yamatawork and Tekle Mamo. Afewerk grew up under the Italian occupation during the Second World War.
Afewerk Tekle was born on October 22, 1932 in Ankober, Ethiopia, into the family of Feleketch Yamatawork and Tekle Mamo. Afewerk grew up under the Italian occupation during the Second World War.
Afewerk decided to study mining engineering in England. Whilst at boarding school in England, his artistic talent was recognised and encouraged by his teachers. As a result, Afewerk was persuaded to switch from engineering and enter the Central School of Arts and Crafts in London. He then went on to the Slade School of Art where he studied painting, sculpture and architecture.
Returning to Ethiopia after his studying, Afewerk could have accepted an assigned ministerial post, but instead decided to spend time travelling around the provinces of Ethiopia to get more experience of his native country and its culture, which he reflected in his paintings in future. In 1954 he held his first one-man show in Addis Ababa, at Municipality Hall, that gave him enough funds to travel around Europe for two years where he learnt how to design and construct stained glass windows.
Back in Ethiopia, Afewerk opened a studio in the National Library of Ethiopia. His increasing recognition lead to government commissions for murals and mosaics in St George's Cathedral in Addis Ababa, and several of his designs even were used on the national stamps. He was also commissioned to make monumental sculptures of famous Ethiopians, although only the statue of Ras Makonnen in Harrar was completed. In 1958 he designed the stained glass windows in the Africa Hall of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa in Addis Ababa. The three windows cover an area of 150 square meters, and represent the sorrow of Africa's past, the struggle of the present, and hope for Africa's future.
In 1961 Afewerk held a major retrospective in Addis Ababa, which led to his painting "Maskal Flower" being presented at the international exhibitions in Russia, the United States and Senegal. Growing funds allowed Afewerk to travel around the continent of Africa. With much of Africa still emerging from colonialism, Afewerk became fired with black emancipation and the struggles for independence. That was reflected in his paintings of that time, with titles like "Backbones of African Civilization" and "African Unity."
As his reputation spread abroad, Afewerk was invited to put on an exhibition in Moscow following which he toured the Soviet Union with lectures. The American government responded with an invitation for one man exhibitions in Washington and New York and a similar lecture tour of American universities. Additional international exhibitions followed in Senegal, Turkey, Zaire, the United Arab Republic, Bulgaria, Munich, Kenya and Algeria.
Through much of the 1970s Afewerk was engaged in producing murals and mosaics for many public and religious buildings around Ethiopia, including the murual "Last Judgement" in the Adigrat Cathedral in Adigrat, Tigray. The early 1980s saw his second major exhibition in Moscow and an exhibition in Bonn. In 1981, his painting "Self-portrait" was the first work by an African artist to enter the permanent collection of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. In 1997 he exhibited at the Biennale of Aquitaine, France, winning first prize in the international competition. Afewerk Tekle died on April 10, 2012 from severe stomach ulcer complications after receiving treatment at a private hospital in Addis Ababa.
Virtually all of Tekle's works have to do with Ethiopian nationalism, the country's colorful history, its people, its traditions, and its ancient Judeo-Christian religion.
