Skoto Gallery: Africa’s Hidden Treasure in New York

By Tseday Alehegn

Above: Tseday Alehegn in Harlem, New York. Photography by Liben Eabisa.

In the heart of Chelsea, New York, one of the world’s blossoming art districts, lays a gem for African art lovers. Skoto Gallery, a contemporary African art gallery, opened its doors to the public in 1992 with the notable African-American jazz icon Ornette Coleman as curator of its inaugural exhibition. Over the years, the gallery has mounted several memorable and engaging exhibitions, and has helped introduce the New York art world to the works of African artists such as master printmaker Mohammad Omer Khalil (Sudan); sculptors El Anatsui (Ghana), Uche Okeke (Nigeria), Ahmed Nosseir (Egypt), Pefura (Cameroon), Kan- Si (Senegal); and Ethiopian painters Wosene Kosrof , Tesfaye Tessema and sculptures by Etiye Dimma Poulsen, a Belgium based Ethiopian Artist.

  

Left: Mohammad Omer Khalil (Sudan), Descending Sun, 2004, 12×12 in. Right: Pefura (Cameroon), Untitled: Frontale Particuliere, Interior-Exterior Vol. II, video still, c-print, 17×12 inches. Photos courtesy of Skoto Gallery.

 

Left: El Anatsui (Ghana), Meeting of the Elders, 2005, aluminum (liquor bottle tops) and copper wire, 79”x133”, 198cmx343cm. Right: Tesfaye Tessema (Ethiopia), Addis Improvisation III, 2004, acrylic on canvas, 72×54 inches. Photos courtesy of Skoto Gallery.

 

Left: Wosene Kosrof (Ethiopia), Word Play III, 2006, acrylic on canvas, 25×24 inches. Right: Etiye Dimma Poulsen, Aztec Woman, 2005, mixed media, 23×10x4 inches. Photos courtesy of Skoto Gallery.

Occupying a charming space, Skoto shares the same floor with the legendary ACA, one of New York’s oldest galleries and a specialist in 19th and 20th century American and European art. Skoto Gallery was one of the first galleries in the United States to focus primarily on contemporary African Diaspora art. Prior to its inception, African art aficionados had to make do with occasional museum exhibits, which, when closed, left an irreplaceable void.

 

Gallery owners Skoto Aghahowa and his artist-wife Alix du Serech have created a neutral and continual exhibition space where established and emerging artists display their work, fusing traditional elements with modern influences. “There has been an increasing body of knowledge in the field of contemporary African art in recent years, and credit must be given to African scholars, art historians, curators and the artists themselves for their active participation in this effort,” says Skoto.

 

Above: Gallery owners Skoto Aghahowa and Alix du Serech. Photography by Liben Eabisa.

“We invite and encourage artists from throughout the African Diaspora to visit the gallery and share in this experience.” Skoto also acknowledges the work of non-African artists from throughout the world, since they also bring their unique perspectives and experiences into their practices.

Asked why he chose to become an art dealer, Skoto posits, “As much as we have talented artists, writers, art historians, musicians and poets, so too must we have African art dealers, publishers, and promoters who are actively engaged in all phases of the process  – from the private studios of the artists to the marketplace.” Interpretation of African art needs to be conducted not only through the eyes of the Western world but likewise through the mindset of the Africans who created the art.

 

Skoto also stresses the importance of having a greater understanding of the creative process, the environment in which one operates, as well as marketing and promotion skills within African communities. “A piece of artwork retains its value when one strikes a balance between scholarly work and commercial success,” he reminds us. Hence, he points out, “The most important role for an art dealer is to be familiar with the work of world artists, not just African artists, and to help create a context in which the work can be understood and appreciated.” According to Skoto, “Becoming a good art dealer requires open-mindedness, and honestly engaging oneself in the practice of the artists one works with.” In essence, the task is to serve as an interlocutor, putting up exhibitions that illuminate what artists want to interpret.

For Skoto, the best part of owning and running a gallery is the time he spends organizing exhibitions with Alix. He especially enjoys setting up group shows that bring together artists from various backgrounds and cultures. “I not only like displaying artworks, but also watching the artists themselves interact with each other, sometimes for the first time,” Skoto shares.

True success, for Skoto and Alix, is watching artists and the gallery grow together as the public becomes familiar with their work. Equally gratifying is the acquisition of works by museums and other institutions for their collections; it means these works will be viewed by a much larger general public, and become a part of the collective visual documentation of our times. Skoto dreams of a Museum for Contemporary African Art established and run by Africans in the United States in the not-too-distant future.

Learn more about the gallery at skotogallery.com

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About the Author: Tseday Alehegn is the Editor-in-Chief of Tadias Magazine. Tseday is a graduate of Stanford University (both B.A. & M.A.). In addition to her responsibilities at Tadias, she is also a Doctoral student at Columbia University.

Bridging Cultures Through Art: A Harlem Moment with Tesfaye Tessema

By Tseday Alehegn

Above: Tseday Alehegn during her walks through Harlem with Tesfaye Tessema

Before arriving at Artist Tesfaye’s studio in Harlem, his home of twenty years, we took a tour of historic areas where Ethiopian and African-American ties runs deep and undisturbed. We traversed slowly and observantly across Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard, named after the fiery pastor of Harlem’s legendary Abyssinian Baptist Church, and walked through African Square, lined with colorful West African vendors and stores. Continuing our promenade towards Lenox Avenue, we spotted an Ethiopian-owned cafe called Settepani, a popular hangout for Harlem’s young elite. As we strolled by Jackie Robinson’s Park, a young African American man, recognizing our Ethiopian ancestry, smiled and greeted us with a hearty “Tenastelegn!”

Above: Top left, Jackie Robinson’s Park; Middle Right, Harlem’s legendary Abyssinian Baptist Church. Photos by Tseday Alehegn

Walking through Harlem with Tess (as he is known in Harlem), two things become quickly evident: The first being that this neighborhood has, as the artist tells us, “a feeling of home.” And the latter, that his love for this community fuels his art.

Above: Tesfaye Tessema in Brooklyn, New York.  Photo by Liben Eabisa

One of his recent exhibitions at Skoto Gallery in New York (one of the first galleries to specialize in contemporary African Art in the United States), was entitled Addis Improvisations: Art from Harlem. This series is an afrocentric, jazzy-expression of joint heritage.

   

Above: Left, Addis Improvisation III, 2004, acrylic on canvas, 72×54 inches. Right, Addis Improvisation I, 2004, acrylic on canvas, 72″x39″. Photos courtesy of Skoto Gallery.

Tesfaye’s journey to Harlem can be traced back to his early high school days, when he was a student at Menelik High School in Addis Ababa. On one particular day, his class was excused and students were asked to attend a special gathering at the National Theatre. “We were told that an important person from Harlem had arrived, and we saw several men dressed in fancy suits setting up their musical instruments on stage. Their leader was called Duke Ellington,” he recalls. The young Tesfaye was mesmerized as the concert began with Ellington’s famous “A-Train” composition. This extraordinary opportunity to listen to Ellington play jazz remained etched in Tesfaye’s mind, his first introduction to jazz and to Harlem.

Many years later, after arriving in Washington, D.C. to pursue a Masters of Fine Arts at
Howard University, he developed lasting friendships within the African-American community, and rekindled his passion for Harlem. After completing his art studies, Tesfaye moved to Harlem. He now lives in the same building where Duke Ellington once resided. “I feel at home here,” he says. “I tell my African-American friends that, just as they look for their roots, I search for my branches. Together we form a tree.”

Harlem, and jazz in particular, have profoundly impacted Tesfaye’s art. Speaking about his career as an artist, he says, “My art lately is an improvisation. I consider myself a jazz  painter. I play jazz with my brush.”

  

Above: Left, 155th/Amsterdam Avenue II, 2003, acrylic on canvas, 24″x16″. Right, Addis Improvisation V, 2004, acrylic on canvas, 72″x54″.  Photos courtesy of Skoto Gallery.

Art itself had also been an integral part of Tesfaye’s childhood experience. “I’ve known art since I knew myself,” he says. “While other children played together, I grew up in a household with no other children, so art became my game. I played art. I drew on walls with charcoal, and I looked around for natural objects to create color – green from leaves and yellow from mustard,” he shares. “Whenever I accompanied my mother to church, I used to stare at the paintings on the walls during prayers. To me, this art was able to express spiritual concepts that are not as easily expressed through words.” After attending Menelik school, Tesfaye longed to enter the National Fine Arts School — conveniently located right next door. He was accepted and commenced formal studies in art there before going on to pursue graduate studies at Howard.

Tesfaye Tessema is not only a master painter but also a master print maker and a muralist. He also uses etching, lithography, and mixed media. His art has been collected by prestigious institutions, such as the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and the United Nations in New York City. Alongside the works of famous African-American artists such as Romare Bearden, Tesfaye Tessema’s paintings are prominently featured in the Schomburg Center’s publication Black New York Artists of the 20th Century. The United Nations transformed one of his paintings into a stamp that  raised over $300,000 for famine relief in Ethiopia. He was also commissioned to paint a mural by the Museum of African Arts (the Smithsonian) on Capitol Hill. Tesfaye stands as one of the only contemporary Ethiopian artists to display his artwork at established institutions like the Guggenheim Museum in New York. His art has been exhibited at various universities throughout the U.S. as well as internationally in France,Germany, England, Japan, and many other countries.

Above: Addis Improvisation IV, 2004, acrylic on canvas, 56″x54″. Photo courtesy of Skoto Gallery.

Throughout his career, Tesfaye has emphasized his appreciation for public art. “I think people have the right to claim my art,” he says, seeing art as his service to individuals and contribution to the public in general. He uses the sights and sounds of his two communities, Ethiopian and African-American, to make art that positively reinforces their harmony.

“I would really like the world to know that all of us are artists,” he says. “There are no special people made to be artists. What comes out on the canvas is what we’ve all taken in from our environment, expressed through our own personal interpretation.”

A Harlem moment with Tesfaye teaches us to appreciate not only the art but also the artist.

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About the Author: Tseday Alehegn is the Editor-in-Chief of Tadias Magazine. Tseday is a graduate of Stanford University (both B.A. & M.A.). In addition to her responsibilities at Tadias, she is also a Doctoral student at Columbia University.