Redeat Wondemu, a local Ethiopian American photographer who also goes by Red Won, hardly got a moment of rest the night her exhibit, Her, opened on Dec. 15 at the gallery Art of Noize. People began walking in to view her work almost an hour before the reception officially started, and by the time it kicked off the small venue was packed. From start to finish, Wondemu stood next to a table where her prints and Hasselblad film camera were on display to talk to visitors as they approached her with compliments and questions about her photography.
“We had a big response,” gallery owner Adrian Ferguson says. “Everybody was impressed with the work and Red’s attention to detail.”
It’s no surprise that so many people showed up to the reception, at least for those familiar with Wondemu’s work. Dozens of black and white photos as well as two large, cyan-colored self-portraits line the walls of the gallery with the faces of the artist and women she met during her visits to the East African country she calls home. Wondemu’s photos not only capture the subtle emotions of her models, but are also printed in a way that makes them look like paintings. Local painter Adèremi Inniss was one of the first visitors to arrive at Art of Noize and couldn’t contain his excitement. “These are gorgeous!” he said as soon as he laid eyes on her work.
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