A rendering of the Meedo plywood wall sculpture, 2024. Photography courtesy of Jomo Tariku.
Jomo Tariku has come a long way—literally and figuratively. Born in Kenya and raised in Ethiopia, he came to the U.S. to study industrial design at the University of Kanas, launching his first furniture studio in Washington, DC in 2000, then relaunching it in 2016. A year later, we met him at ICFF in New York where he was debuting his modular Birth II chair; acquisitions of his pieces by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, LACMA, and Denver Art Museum—and their appearance on 2022’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever set—soon followed.
This fall, Tariku is the subject of his first-ever solo exhibition, “Juxtaposed,” at Wexler Gallery in Philadelphia. In keeping with the tradition of most material artists in Ethiopia, Tariku’s work has historically been done in wood (birch, walnut). But this exhibition, which includes 31 pieces, seven of them never before seen, including the 22-foot-tall Meedo wall sculpture, explores new technologies and materials, such as metal, plastic, and leather, but that still relate to his heritage. “It’s a celebration of the past and the present,” Tariku says, “a contribution to a positive cultural experience, a new creative language based on Black culture.”
The 2023 walnut Meedo bench is appearing in “Juxtaposed,” Jomo Tariku’s solo exhibition at Wexler Gallery in Philadelphia, from October 10 to December 20. Photography courtesy of Wexler Gallery.
A rendering of the Meedo plywood wall sculpture, 2024. Photography courtesy of Jomo Tariku.
The Boraati stool, birch with natural finish, has been modified in 2024. Photography courtesy of Jomo Tariku.
The Ashanti stool, birch in black finish, has been modified in 2024. Photography courtesy of Jomo Tariku.
Meedo chair in bronze, 2023. Photography courtesy of Wexler Gallery.