Hana Yilma Godine's 'A Brush in the Universe' Transcends Time and Place
Published February 19, 2024From her studio in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, painter Hana Yilma Godine spoke with me about her latest solo show in New York City, currently on view at two locations: The Fridman Gallery on the Bowery and the Rachel Uffner Gallery on the Lower East Side. This exhibition, titled A Brush in the Universe, marks the artist's second collaboration with these galleries. The two venues previously worked together to present Godine's A Hair Salon in Addis Ababa in 2022.
Born and raised in the cultural melting pot that is Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, painter Hana Yilma Godine spent her formative years amidst a backdrop of diverse languages, religions, and artistic traditions in the vibrant capital city.
After studying sculpture, drawing, and painting through summer classes at Abyssinia School of Fine Art, Godine continued to explore her passion for painting at Ale Fine Art School in Ethiopia, eventually earning her MFA at Boston University in 2020. Along with classes in painting, silkscreen, and a visual poem book class, Godine cites the guidance of Josephine Halverson, the Chair of Graduate Studies in Painting, as a major source of inspiration during that time. In 2023, Godine immersed herself in the vibrant artistic atmosphere of Beacon, NY, participating in the Fridman Gallery's artist residency. "It was a very different experience,” she told me, “—a different time and place, meeting new people, and the weather, the landscape, the nature—all those elements functioned in the paintings that I was creating there, and in the museums that I was visiting."
