White Cube has announced representation of Tesfaye Urgessa, the Ethiopian-born painter whose career has gained international momentum through major museum and fair presentations.
The gallery will stage his first solo exhibition at its Hong Kong space on September 9, bringing together new paintings and works on paper. One of his 2025 canvases, Fiber of grace (Schutz) 2, will also appear at Frieze Seoul next month, extending his visibility across leading art platforms.
Urgessa is recognized for large-scale figurative works that center Black subjects in layered, often mysterious interiors and social spaces. His process begins with floor-based drawings before oil paint is applied with a long brush, giving the works a distinctive sense of movement and scale.
His artistic path began in Addis Ababa, where he studied at the Alle School of Fine Art and Design, before continuing at the Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Stuttgart. In 2014, he received the Prize of the State Academy of Stuttgart.
Urgessa's profile rose further with the inaugural Ethiopian Pavilion at the 2024 Venice Biennale, where his presentation explored identity, belonging, and personal interpretation through 18 paintings. Since then, he has expanded his international reach with solo exhibitions in Europe and an upcoming museum debut in Asia.
With this new representation, Urgessa's work is positioned for broader global engagement, suggesting a future in which cross-cultural painting continues to shape the contemporary art conversation.
