Description
Acrylic on canvas, Dereje Shiferaw (Ethiopian, born 1976)
Echoes in Silence, 2025
100 x 100 cm
In Echoes in Silence, layers of muted whites, soft greys and pale neutrals create a fragmented surface punctuated by flashes of teal, green and deep red. Across this delicate interplay of colour and texture, expressive black marks cut through the composition, introducing a sense of rhythm, tension and interruption.
The gestural lines evoke fragments of a forgotten language or the remnants of a conversation that was never fully heard. Some appear almost musical in their irregular cadence, while others disrupt the underlying structure, suggesting emotions that resist expression or memories that remain unresolved. Against the restrained palette, occasional touches of red emerge with particular intensity, hinting at something deeper beneath the apparent quiet.
The layered, almost architectural arrangement of forms recalls walls, fragmented spaces or accumulated traces of collective experience. Yet the spontaneous marks that cross the surface challenge this sense of order, revealing the tension between structure and instability, restraint and emotional release.
Through this contrast, Echoes in Silence explores the invisible traces left by experience, memory and unspoken emotion. It invites viewers to consider what remains beneath the surface when words fall away, and how even in silence, fragments of the past continue to resonate.
Signed ‘Dereje (front)
Provenance: Direct from the artist
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