KIRIBEL MELKE (ETHIOPIA) “WAITING” – EXHIBITION FROM THE COLLECTION
As an art advisor, I see Kiribel Melke as an artist whose practice is deeply rooted in material memory, textile language, and the quiet emotional states of everyday human existence.
The exhibition WAITING brings together works that reflect on one of the most universal yet deeply personal conditions of life — waiting. As the artist himself describes, waiting is never the same for everyone. One person may be waiting for someone they love, another for an event that will change their life, a young woman may be waiting for her child to be born. Waiting is always different, yet always present. And what comes after, we can never truly know.
This conceptual openness is at the heart of Melke’s artistic approach — a reflection on time, uncertainty, and human vulnerability.
His artistic journey began in early childhood, when his mother brought small pieces of fabric home from a weaving factory. Together, they would sew and assemble quilts from these fragments. This intimate early experience with textile and handcraft became the foundation of his visual language.
Later, through academic development and formal training, Melke expanded this intimate practice into a professional artistic language, where textile is not only material, but also narrative. His works function as woven paintings — layered, tactile compositions where memory and structure coexist.
A distinctive aspect of his practice is the use of hand-stitching techniques combined with traditional Ethiopian textiles. This is particularly visible in works such as Book Shelf, as well as other mixed textile compositions included in the collection. The surface of his works carries both cultural heritage and personal storytelling, merging tradition with contemporary artistic expression.
Melke has participated in numerous group exhibitions across Europe and internationally, establishing himself as an artist whose work speaks across cultural boundaries through material sensitivity and quiet conceptual depth.
WAITING is not only an exhibition about time — it is an exhibition about presence within uncertainty. About what it means to exist in a moment that is not yet resolved, but already deeply felt.