Bridge Projects

On , we are celebrating one of Ethiopia's most original and prolific contemporary artists, Elias Sime, who works with the humblest of materials – mud, bottle caps, yarn, and buttons.

The visual power of Africa's sacred and spiritual topography is not linked to any single belief, but is made vibrant through the inclusion of many. Inextricably linked to its colonial history, geography, and land, the creation of vibrant works by artists like Elias Sime remind us of the infinite transformative possibilities of reclamation and repair, in an environment in desperate need of such pursuits.

From the Cohan Gallery website: "Elias Sime deftly weaves, layers, and assembles technological components into abstract compositions, often on a monumental scale. Sime moves fluidly between suggestions of topography, figuration, and sublime color fields. His works serve as records of the global exchange of commodities, and express the tenuousness of our interconnected world, alluding to the frictions between tradition and progress, human contact and social networks, nature and the man-made, and physical presence and the virtual."

Sime is currently exhibiting "TIGHTROPE: አረንጔዴ ነው (IT IS GREEN)" at James Cohan Gallery in NYC. The works in this exhibition represent a new chapter within Sime’s ongoing "Tightrope" series, whose title reflects the precarious balance between the advancement technology has made possible and its detrimental impact on the environment.

Featured artwork:
Elias Sime, Tightrope: It is Green 2, 2023.
Elias Sime, Tightrope: It is Green 4, 2023.
Elias Sime, Installation View Venice Biennale, The Milk of Dreams, Venice, Italy.
Elias Sime, TIGHTROPE: ECHO!?, 2021.
Elias Sime, We Are All Green #7, 2019.
Elias Sime, Tightrope: Evolution 2, 2017.

Today Christians around the world remember the crucifixion of Jesus and his death at Mount Calvary. The Stations of the Cross or the Via Crucis refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ en route to his eventual death, and the visual drama of the fourteen stations, whether naturalistic or stylized, is meant to stimulate empathic participation in Christ’s suffering.

Over time, The Stations of the Cross have evolved into a container for nearly any inquiry—formal, social, political, or metaphysical—and they have been read throughout art history. From Peter Paul Rubens and Matthias Grunewald, to Henri Matisse, Barnett Newman, Michael Kenny, Francesco Clemente, theater-artist Robert Wilson, Tammy Nyugen, and also Bridge collaborators Lucas Reiner and Daniel Callis. While some neutralize their religiosity; others find in the Stations a secularly-safe way to engage the divine. We’ve compiled a grouping for your reflection.

If you’d like to learn more about the stations of the cross throughout art history, we invite you to view a lecture by Dr. Nora Heimann at the link in our bio.

Featured images:
Robert Wilson designed a space/sound installation to Franz Liszt's Via Crucis, the 14 Stations of the Cross, 2012.
Tammy Nguyen, JESUS TAKES UP HIS CROSS, 2022.
Lucas Reiner, Station XIII (Descent), 2010.
Daniel Callis, Grief Net Station 15, 2020-22.
Barnett Newman, The Stations of the Cross: Lema Sabachtani, 1958.
Henri Matisse, Chapel of the Rosary in Vence, 1943.
Michael Kenny, The Stations of the Cross, 1998-99.
Francesco Clemente, Fourteen Stations, 1981-82.