Dawit Abebe, born in 1978, graduated from the Alle School of Fine Art and Design at Addis Ababa University with a diploma in painting, sculpture, graphics, photography and industrial design. In 2001, he founded the Habesha Art Studio in his native Ethiopia, where he continues to be a full-time artist-in-residence. In addition to numerous successful international exhibitions across Africa, Europe and the Middle East, Abebe has also worked with charities such as UNICEF to hold workshops for street children in Arba Minch, Jinka and Addis Ababa. Solo exhibitions include “Quo Vadis?” at Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, London (2017),Background 2 at Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, London (2015), Background 1 at Lela Gallery, Addis Ababa (2014), and X Privacy at the Alliance Ethio-Française, Addis Ababa (2012), while group exhibitions include Art Dubai, Dubai (2017), major group show What about Africa?, Witteveen Visual Art Centre, Amsterdam (2016), Pangaea II: New Art from Africa and Latin America, Saatchi Gallery, London (2015), Concerning The Internal at Circle Art Gallery, Nairobi (2015), Visibles/Invisibles at Fondation Blachere, Apt (2015), the display of the Habesha Art Collection at the National Museum in Addis Ababa (2014), and the touring exhibition Silver Sea Cross-Ship (2013-14). In 2014, one of the works from Abebe’s X Privacy series sold for double its estimate at a major auction of East African art in Nairobi, Kenya and in 2017 he was named “Chevalier of Frances Order of Arts and Letters”. His work is held in international private and public collections, including the Barjeel Art Foundation, the Rema Hort Mann Foundation, the Frank Cohen Collection, the Carole Server and Oliver Frankel Collection, and the Saatchi Gallery Collection. Abebe continues to gain international recognition.
