Tesfay Negga

Tesfay Atchbekha Negga is a visual artist born in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. He graduated from the St. Petersburg Academic Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture. Currently an instructor in the same institute, he teaches drawing and painting. He has been awarded multiple prestigious awards amongst which Diplme D Honneur in 2006, Commemorial Medal of the academy by the decision of the President in 1999, 'Person of the year' & Winner in the nomination “The most competent teacher'', according to the students of  St. Petersburg State the University of Technology  & Design in 2018 are some of the important ones to mention. He has exhibited extensively at various expositions in St. Petersburg, Ethiopia and France.

Predominantly, his paintings depict African women in vibrant clothes with impastoed backgrounds. Realistic yet expressionistic, Negga’s visual language shows a palpable influence from European pedagogy.  He renders portraits in an exotic style seated with romantic backdrops.  From common people to fighting animals, his anatomical dexterity and craftsmanship speak of his compelling talent. Notably, the portraits are from his memory, under the charge of the movement. They are either in some actions or directly looking at the artist as if seated as a model. These tendencies of the painting reflect his stature as a tutor which evolves over teaching students. Importantly, some of the poses of the painting reflect his inspiration from post-impressionism. Photographic in nature, Negga’s paintings have received worldwide acclaim over his journey in the art for decades.