About

Yared Nigussu grew up in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and graduated in 2005 from the Addis Ababa University School of Fine Arts and Design, majoring in painting. A scholarship took him to France, and his career took shape exhibiting in France and Austria before he settled in Vancouver in 2009.

Early on he was deeply influenced by Amedeo Modigliani, and faces remain his central subject — undisguised brushstrokes in a bright, opulent palette, layered until one can almost hear the breath of the sitter. Vancouver gave him a second subject: the energy and light of the city itself.

In his newest work, pattern becomes language: a weaving together of syntaxes from Addis Ababa, Rennes, Los Angeles, Vienna, and Vancouver. Figures inhabit interiors as mosaics: a striking and colourful visual grammar that echoes the historical textiles of Ethiopia through a modern cosmopolitan lens, translated entirely into paint.

His current home, Vancouver, is an ideal context for the unique cultural depth of his work. Notable among the world's most diverse cities, Vancouver is home to at least 190 languages, and 50% of its residents were born outside of Canada. Recognition there came swiftly: three consecutive wins at National Art Battle Canada, followed by a Sage Award for Social Acceptance and Great Excellence and the Bikila Professional Excellence Award. His work also caught the attention of Vancouver's NHL team, the Canucks, when in 2023 they unveiled a Black History Month jersey of his design: the orca re-imagined in Ethiopian colour and pattern, with Ge'ez numerals. That same year brought a collaboration with the Canadian Commission for UNESCO and an art residency with legendary producer Daniel Lanois in Los Angeles. His paintings now hang in collections from Austria to Las Vegas, including those of Oscar de la Hoya and Georges St-Pierre.

In 2018 he opened the Art Lab Studio on Columbia Street in Vancouver's Chinatown — a creative hub for art and culture that backs onto the historic Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden, the first scholars' garden built outside China. It is where he works today.

“Eyes can hide a lot of stories — and that is an infinite source of inspiration for me.” Yared Nigussu