In the realm of global art, history has recently been rewritten, and the name that now stands etched in gold is Julie Mehretu. The Ethiopian-born, US-based artist has soared to unprecedented heights, setting a new auction record for an African artist.
The masterpiece that achieved this milestone in late 2023, is an abstract painting titled 'Walkers With the Dawn and Morning'. It mesmerized the art world and fetched an astonishing $10.7 million at Sotheby’s in New York. This landmark moment not only highlights Mehretu's extraordinary talent but also underscores the growing interest in contemporary African art, particularly in abstract paintings.
Julie Mehretu attends The Kering Foundation's Caring for Women dinner at The Pool on Park Avenue on September 15, 2022 in New York City. Source: Dia Dipasupil.
The record-breaking piece, created with ink and acrylic on canvas, derives its name from a Langston Hughes poem from the 1920s. "Walkers With the Dawn and Morning" was conceived as part of Mehretu's response to the devastating Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and its profound impact on the city of New Orleans.
The auction, a dramatic event in its own right, witnessed two passionate bidders competing for the masterpiece. The final hammer price of $10.7 million, once fees were added, solidified Mehretu's place as one of the prominent painters of our time.
Walkers With the Dawn and Morning is named after leading Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes. Source: BBC News.
Born in 1970 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Julie Mehretu's journey through the art world has been one of continuous innovation and recognition. Her educational pursuits took her to the University of Cheikh Anta Diop in Dakar, Kalamazoo College in Michigan, and the Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, where she earned her MFA in 1997.
Her awards include the prestigious Berlin Prize in 2007, a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Award in 2005, and the American Art Award from the Whitney Museum of American Art in 2005.
Mehretu's artistic path gained much attention in the early 2000s with large, multilayered paintings incorporating architectural diagrams and cityscapes. As time goes by, her work took a thrilling turn, embracing gestural, calligraphic abstractions that pulsate with unsettled tensions, evoking the dislocations of war and the chaos of climate disorder.
Her paintings are a visual narrative of global circulations — the movements of people and capital, the spread of viral infections, and political uprisings. For over two decades, Mehretu has delved deep into the exploration of painting, creating forms that resonate with the histories of art and human civilization.
From Babylonian stelae to architectural sketches, from European history painting to the symbols of African liberation movements, Mehretu draws inspiration from diverse sources. Approximately thirty paintings and forty works on paper, spanning from 1996 to the present day, composes a mid-career survey of Mehretu's work, offering the most comprehensive overview of her practice to date.
Julie Mehretu at work. Courtesy the artist and Marian Goodman Gallery © Julie Mehretu. Source: Tom Powel.
Mehretu, through her art, plays with the very essence of abstraction, architecture, landscape, scale, and most recently, figuration. At the core of her work lies an investment in our lived experiences, exploring how forces such as migration, capitalism, and climate change impact human populations and possibilities.
Julie Mehretu's contributions to the art world extend far beyond her remarkable auction record. In a time when museums struggle to embrace diversity and inclusion in a complicated political environment, Mehretu stands as a powerful symbol of progress.
She is a rare example of a contemporary Black female painter who has seamlessly entered the canon, leaving an indelible mark in the history of art. As her brush continues to create, we eagerly await the next chapter in Mehretu's journey, knowing that it will undoubtedly be a continuation of the remarkable narrative she has already penned on the canvas of global art.
