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Tariku Shiferaw

@abstractexit

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Visual artist working in painting and installation art.

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A making of a mark. A marking of a symbol. A flag. A nation. A people. Many people. A marking of a people. A mythology. Roland Barthes said “mythology is subtle everyday occurrences” - invisible and not fully true, yet through representation often disguised as factual - mythology alludes and poses as the North Star. A flag. A labored flag. An imagined flag contending with symbols of phantom inclusion.

Using only the colors black and blue, in 2017, I made my first American flag artwork titled “Duck Seazon (Wu-Tang)” and have made one every couple of years since.

This piece, “A Labored Flag” is my latest work from the series “Flags of Us.” It contains the Pan-African colors, red, black, and green, fully immersed in phthalo blue - except for the area where the stars reside (the red and black dots). Flags are representational symbols and I appreciate the history of artists that have contended with such nationalistic imagery for over half a century.

Inspired by some of the most revered artists such as David Hammons, Jasper Johns, Benny Andrews, Faith Ringgold, and in conversation with some of my contemporaries such as Hank Willis Thomas, Tajh Rust, Carla Edwards, Eric N. Mack, and others, my American flag series gets to poke at the concept of representation, symbolism, and identification. Value systems are reinforced through subtle imagery and mythology (a verbal reinforcement of such imagery), paving way for a mark to be made in society and eventually in history. Mark-making.

Images:
1-4. #tarikushiferaw A Labored Flag, 2024,
Acrylic on canvas, 40x30 inches

5. Tariku Shiferaw, Duck Seazon (Wu-Tang), 2017

6. Tariku Shiferaw, Tearz (Wu-Tang), 2019

7. #davidhammons African American Flag, 1990

8. #jasperjohns Three Flags, 1958

9. #bennyandrews Did the Bear Sit Under A Tree?, 1969 @benny_andrews_estate

10. #faithringgold The Flag is Bleeding #2, 1997. @faithringgold

11. #hankwillisthomas Six Red Lines (100 Stars), 2024. @hankwillisthomas

12. #tajhrust -nation (Pronounced Hyphenation), 2016 @tajhrust

13. #carlaedwards American Circus, 2024 @carlala.edwards

14. #ericnmack Star Spangled Banner for Jasper Jonez, 2024 @ernatmack

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“Session 32 (Summer Walker)” 2024, acrylic on canvas, 48x36. @bronxmuseum gala live auction tonight at 7:30pm (in collaboration with @artsy )

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This Saturday, September 23 at 12 noon, join me in conversation with Larry Ossei-Mensah, curator and cultural critic, held on the occasion of my exhibition "Marking Oneself in Dark Places,"⁠ on view at Galerie Lelong through October 21, 2023.
⁠

The exhibition presents works from two of my ongoing series, "One of These Black Boys" and "Mata Semay," in which I engage my practice of cultural space-making through a confrontation of exclusionary Eurocentric systems of epistemic erasure. ⁠My latest series, "Mata Semay," Amharic for “night skies,” proposes a new mythology that imagines how the night sky would exist if diasporic cultural contributions were considered in the global consciousness.

#larryosseimensah
#tarikushiferaw

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Great to wake up to our group exhibition at @sugarhillmuseum being featured on the @nytimes

Stop by before it closes - on view through August 20th. Unrated by @damiendavis Artists included: @chrisbogia @soloexhibit @rico_gatson @abstractexit

#sugarhillmuseum
#damiendavis
#chrisbogia
#marisolmartinez
#ricogaston
#tarikushiferaw

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“Small Wonders” curated by @mashondatifrere
Opening reception Thursday, 12/9/2021 6-8pm

“Reunited (Wu Tang)” 2021, acrylic on canvas. 14”x11”

World Trade Center, building 4
NYC Culture Club
185 Greenwich st.

#wutang

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A panel discussion titled “Abstraction: Investigations of Social Change” will take place @galerielelong (via Zoom) with artists @adebooms @slevijones and myself, moderated by @sephsees

Please rsvp using link in my bio to join us for this talk.

Thursday, May 6th at 3pm (EST)

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Speaking on “Behind the Canvas” with @larryosseimensah tonight at 7pm (EST) on Clubhouse. We’ll also speak on my current exhibition, “It’s a love thang, it’s a joy thang” on view at @galerielelong through May 15th. Please join us.

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Good vibrations💯

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Great honor to be reviewed on the @brooklynrail by @elizabethbuhe
🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿

The exhibition has been extended till December 20th, so you can see it if you haven’t already.

#adebunmigbadebo
#ashantekindle
#alteroncegumby
#tarikushiferaw
#ayannadozier
@falseflaggallery

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Please join us in a roundtable response by artists and critics to the exhibition, “Abstraction in the Black Diaspora” curated by @dozierayanna and myself #tarikushiferaw on Friday, December 11th at 6pm. Invited participants include #derrickadams #ericacardwell #tomashijackson

The talk will be on Zoom and will last about 90min followed by a brief Q&A.

Use the link in my bio to register for this talk.

Exhibiting Artists:
#adebunmigbadebo
#ashantekindle
#alteroncegumby
#tarikushiferaw

@falseflaggallery

Graphic design by @2oceans

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About last night:
Thank you everyone for joining us on our panel discussion of “Abstraction in the Black Diaspora” and thank you to all the participants @dozierayanna @adebooms @ashantekindle @alteroncegumby @falseflagprojects

With gratitude 🙏🏿 🖤

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“Abstraction in the Black Diaspora”
Curated by @dozierayanna & @abstractexit

Artists:
@adebooms
@ashantekindle
@alteroncegumby
@abstractexit

Gallery:
@falseflagprojects
11-22 44th RD
Queens, NY
By appointment and Thursday- Sunday 2-6pm.

Book available through @falseflagprojects :
“Rebellious Inventions: Abstraction in the Black Diaspora” by Ayanna Dozier

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