Biography

Leykun Girma was born in 1981 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where his passion for art began at an early age. Before pursuing formal training, he worked independently in his own studio and collaborated with fellow artists at Atrons Art Studio. In 2002, he enrolled at the Ale School of Fine Art and Design, where he studied fine arts for two years. He went on to earn a diploma in painting from TMS Technical and Vocational Training College in 2008, and in 2025 he received a Master of Arts in Philology from EOTC Holy Trinity University.

For more than twenty-four years, Leykun has worked as a full-time painter, exploring both realistic and figurative styles. Deeply rooted in the environment that shaped him, he draws on the faith, politics, history, and everyday philosophies of a community where thread is woven and clay is shaped by hand. Through expressive color and symbolic narrative, he paints the human figure as a Living sign of the divine, creating a visual diary of the world he encounters. His work asks how identity is formed, shaped, and transformed, and insists that it is never finished.

Leykun’s paintings have been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Ethiopia and abroad. Notable showings include the Alliance Ethio-Française (2007), the National Museum of Ethiopia (2012), an exhibition in Hamburg, Germany (2012),
Lafto Art Gallery (2016),Gravity Art Gallery in Kenya (2019), Abrak Art Gallery (2022), and AkkaProject in Venice, Italy (2024), Art of Ethiopia, Sheraton Addis Hotel 2025, Kuriftu restaurant Africa village 2026, Artawi art gallery 2026.

Alongside his artistic career, Leykun is committed to nurturing future generations of creatives. For the past six years, he has volunteered as an art educator in the Fine Arts Department at TMS Vocational and Technical College, sharing his skills
and passion with aspiring young artists.

Artistic Philosophy

My work is guided by a single question: how is identity formed, shaped, and transformed over time? I was born and raised in Kechene, a village of Addis Ababa where culture, faith, philosophy, socio-political, and everyday life converge. It is a place where thread is woven and clay is coaxed into form.

The weavers there first taught me that identity is made by hand. The weaver gathers countless threads, layer upon layer. onto a coarse warp dyed in one color, the color that speaks for the community, he weaves threads of many hues, and through pattern he tells the story of shared values in symbols. The potter, in turn, draws form from the earth, and in her hands the ancient belief that humankind is made of soil finds its echo. both are bearers of meaning: one touching thread, the other clay, they give people a way of existing through craft.

Growing up amid these traditions, I came to see my childhood memories and social bonds as the foundation of my visual language. My surroundings shaped not only who I am, but also the emotional colors and visual elements through which
memory surfaces in my paintings.

I examine identity in the tension between tradition and modernity, and I place the human being at the center of my work. Like the weaver’s thread, the human body is woven from tangled relationships and layers of thought; like the potter’s vessel, it is shaped from the earth. I believe the human being is a living, moving image of God, a mysterious sign, a talisman. through its beauty, fragility, and complexity, I ask about our search for existence, our confrontation with death, our endurance, and the meaning of life. Each visual mark becomes a trace of lived human experience.

Because I hold the human body to be a living, sacred geometry and a presence of the divine, painting the figure is more than a study of outward appearance. It is an act of seeking out a subtle spiritual sign. And so my work returns to its central
question: identity is something woven, shaped, and tended, and it is never finished. It is not handed to us complete; it is built slowly, over a lifetime.

Leykun GirmaMobile: +251-911-464811 | Email: leykungirma@gmail.com Website: www.leykunart.com social media: http://www.Facebook.com/leykunart | http://www.instagram.com/leykungirmaProfessional SummaryAccomplished Ethiopian artist specializing in painting, with extensive experience in exhibitions,workshops, and academia. Passionate about visual storytelling, cultural philosophy, and artisticinnovation.Education• Yekatit 12 High School Art Club Certificate (1997–2000)• Addis Ababa University, Ale School of Fine Arts and Design (2002–2004)• Diploma in Fine Arts (Painting), Teferi Mekonen Technical and Vocational Training College(2007–2009)• Bachelor’s Degree, E O T C Holy Trinity Theological University College (2019)• Master of art in philology, E O T C Holy Trinity Theological University (2025)Teaching & Memberships• Instructor, Fine Arts Department, Teferi Mekonen College (2021–2025)• Member, Ethiopian Visual Arts Association• Co-founder & Member, Abrak Art Gallery (abrakartgallery.com)

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