Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 11

Wosene Kosrof
Semi-Abstract, Colorful Painting by African artist 'For the People'

2023

About the Item

'For the People' by Ethiopian/American artist Wosene Worke Kosrof, 2023. Acrylic on linen, 60 x 60 in. Wosene is best known for his ingenious renderings of the Amharic script, illustrated in this colorful painting. This colorful abstract painting features primary colors in red, yellow, blue, green, orange, , white, and black. It's overall composition is achieved intuitively combining symbols, letter forms, and shapes in a process for which the artist is internationally recognized. Wosene Worke Kosrof was born in 1950, in the Arat Kilo district of Addis Ababa. A studio painter for more than 30 years, Wosene (his professional name) was academically trained in Ethiopia and the United States and was among the first African contemporary artists to gain critical international attention. He is best known for ingenious renderings of the Amharic script, one of the world’s oldest languages, and is the first Ethiopian-born contemporary artist to incorporate these symbols as a root element in fine art paintings. The artist’s inspirations are varied, drawing upon African traditions, personal experience, American jazz, and Western art practices. Wosene’s canvases are multilayered with paint and imagery, but he is best known for his ingenious use of the Amharic script. The artist elongates, distorts and assembles letters into forms of universal appeal beyond their linguistic meaning. There is rich dialoguing between the simplified letter forms and symbols that are intensely worked creating color-drenched textured surfaces of visual power. American jazz improvisations are evident in the active, syncopation of the surface of many Wosene paintings. Fractured images of jazz instruments, musical notes, and strings can be found amongst household objects and figures as well as layers of paint, bringing to mind the overall whimsical and joyful compositions of jazz. Kosrof’s eternal, energetic artistic expression crosses cultures and international boundaries. Kosrof’s works are in numerous museum collections, including the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art (DC); Library of Congress; Newark Museum (NJ); The Neuberger Museum of Art (NY); Indianapolis Museum of Art (IN); Birmingham Museum of Art (AL); Samuel P. Harn Museum (FL); the National Museum, Addis Ababa; Volkerunde Museum, Zurich, Switzerland; and in many private and corporate collections. He exhibits widely in international galleries.
  • Creator:
    Wosene Kosrof (1950, Ethiopian)
  • Creation Year:
    2023
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 60 in (152.4 cm)Width: 60 in (152.4 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    White Plains, NY
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU373311891742
More From This SellerView All
  • Abstract Landscape Painting by Yangyang Pan 'Awake'
    By Yangyang Pan
    Located in White Plains, NY
    'Awake' 2021 by Chinese/Canadian artist Yangyang Pan. Oil on linen, 50 x 40 in. This beautiful abstract-expressionistic, landscape painting incorporates gestural brushstrokes resembl...
    Category

    2010s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Linen, Oil

  • Mixed media, oil painting, Stanley Boxer, Hotjoustatdusk
    By Stanley Boxer
    Located in White Plains, NY
    'Hotjoustatdusk' by Stanley Boxer, 1985. Oil on linen, 38 x 65 in./ Frame: 39.25 x 66 in. This impasto painting has an active surface that is thickly painted with defined brush strok...
    Category

    1980s Abstract Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Linen, Oil

  • Abstract, Landscape Painting by Yangyang Pan 'Sultry Night'
    By Yangyang Pan
    Located in White Plains, NY
    Available at Madelyn Jordon Fine Art. 'Sultry Night' 2024 by Chinese/Canadian artist Yangyang Pan. Oil on canvas, 34 x 52 in. This beautiful abstract-expressionistic landscape painti...
    Category

    2010s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Linen, Oil

  • Semi-Abstract, Colorful Painting by African artist 'Heart of Music III'
    By Wosene Kosrof
    Located in White Plains, NY
    Available at Madelyn Jordon Fine Art. 'Heart of Music III' by Ethiopian/American artist Wosene Worke Kosrof, 2023. Acrylic on linen, 32 x 38 in. Wosene is best known for his ingenio...
    Category

    2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Linen, Acrylic

  • Semi-Abstract, Colorful Painting by African artist 'Sound of the Sea'
    By Wosene Kosrof
    Located in White Plains, NY
    Available at Madelyn Jordon Fine Art. 'Sound of the Sea' by Ethiopian/American artist Wosene Worke Kosrof, 2023. Acrylic on linen, 36 x 40 in. Wosene is best known for his ingenious ...
    Category

    2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Linen, Acrylic

  • Semi-Abstract, Colorful Painting by African artist ' Blessings of the Earth'
    By Wosene Kosrof
    Located in White Plains, NY
    'Blessings of the Earth' by Ethiopian/American artist Wosene Worke Kosrof , 2016. Acrylic on linen, 44.25 x 39.25 in. Wosene is best known for his ingeni...
    Category

    2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Linen, Acrylic

You May Also Like
  • "Saudade" (black & white, rich, text, type, abstract, surreal, natural, neutral)
    By Nicholas Evans
    Located in Paris, IDF
    SAUDADE 2024, Paris, France An abstract, original painting on linen, which is primarily black & white with hand-painted typography detail. Centered at the bottom of the work reads t...
    Category

    21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Oil, Linen

  • Untitled
    Located in Washington, DC
    A Sculptor's Full Circle, Yoichi Tamaki at Alex - Washington Post (April 1, 1999). Judging from his lively exhibition at Alex Gallery, Yoichi Tamaki wo...
    Category

    1990s Abstract Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Sandstone

  • Mars Base
    By Vargas-Suarez Universal
    Located in New York, NY
    Mars Base, 2020 Signed, titled and dated 2020 Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan Acrylic oil enamel and oil on linen 52 x 52 in
    Category

    2010s Abstract Geometric Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Enamel

  • valley of the free and easy spheres
    Located in Toronto, CA
    ANDREW RUCKLIDGE valley of the free and easy spheres 2023 oil distemper and flasche on linen 36 x 42 inches (91.5 x 106.5 cm) Andrew Rucklidge lives and works in Toronto, where he a...
    Category

    2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Linen, Oil, Acrylic

  • Seth
    Located in New York, NY
    Wilder's second career as an artist led to his creation of abstract assemblages that reveal influences of artists he himself showed as an art dealer.
    Category

    1980s Abstract Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Linen, Oil

  • Untitled (Memory after Memory series)
    Located in Lisboa, PT
    Filipe Cortez (Portugal, 1986) holds an MA in Painting from the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Porto and a BA in Painting from the same instit...
    Category

    2010s Abstract Paintings

    Materials

    Canvas, Linen, Oil, Polyurethane

Recently Viewed

View All