Ethiopian-American interdisciplinary artist Helina Metaferia has opened her solo exhibition Syntropy at Praise Shadows Art Gallery. The show blends research, activism, and personal legacy through mixed-media works and remains on view through December 20, 2025. It marks the gallery's final exhibition in its Brookline space before relocating to downtown Boston in spring 2026.
Helina Metaferia, a graduate of Tufts University's School of the Museum of Fine Arts and a teacher of art and social practice at Brown University, bases her work on the seven-year By Way of Revolution project. This initiative examines the influence of civil rights histories on contemporary justice movements, incorporating digitized revolutionary archives and family photographs. Performance workshops for women and femme-identifying people of color promote solidarity, meditation, and movement, resulting in portraits of participants who frequently return for continued collaborations.
Inspired by her late mother's activism for Ethiopian women's rights, Metaferia transitioned from painting to relational and impactful art that contributes to overlooked archives. Her sculptures evoke Ethiopia's anti-colonial struggles, including a brass crown, throne, and her grandmother's dresser, encouraging reflections on archiving lives. Gallery founder Yng-Ru Chen lauds Metaferia's community-building efforts: “She brings voices visually into beautiful portraits.”
Syntropy, denoting the opposite of entropy, celebrates natural organization in activism and biology, countering oppressive chaos. The November 21 opening included a sold-out artist talk with curator Jasmine Wahi and a preview of a documentary on Metaferia's work in New York and California. Previous exhibitions at Praise Shadows, such as All Put Together in 2022, and at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston's Generations, followed a Tufts Traveling Fellowship awarded by curator Michelle Millar Fisher for the artist's archival depth connected to her activist parents. This exhibition highlights Metaferia's role in fostering community and enriching neglected narratives through thoughtful, activist-driven art.