Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 5

Wosene Kosrof
Abstract Vibrant Painting 'Ark of Words'

2025

$16,000
£12,338.34
€14,069.42
CA$22,819.33
A$24,938.87
CHF 13,123.63
MX$298,705.79
NOK 165,174.02
SEK 154,266.11
DKK 105,085.74

About the Item

Available at Madelyn Jordon Fine Art. 'Ark of Words' by Ethiopian/American artist Wosene Worke Kosrof, 2025. Acrylic on linen, 22 x 32 in. This colorful abstract painting features primary colors in red, yellow, orange, blue, and black. Its overall composition is achieved intuitively combining symbols 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, Ethiopia. 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 modern art. 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:
    2025
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 22 in (55.88 cm)Width: 32 in (81.28 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    White Plains, NY
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU373317179642

More From This Seller

View All
Abstract, Vibrant, Colorful 'Santorini'
By Wosene Kosrof
Located in White Plains, NY
Available at Madelyn Jordon Fine Art. 'Santorini by Ethiopian/American artist Wosene Worke Kosrof, 2024. Acrylic on linen, 24 x 38 in. This colorful abstract painting features prima...
Category

2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings

Materials

Linen, Acrylic

Abstract Oil Painting by Roohi Saleem 'Stronger Together'
Located in White Plains, NY
Available at Madelyn Jordon Fine Art. 'Stronger Together' 2022 by Roohi Saleem. Oil and oil sticks on canvas, 40 x 40 in. This colorful painting is constructed as a dense compostiti...
Category

2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil Crayon, Oil

Abstract Oil Painting by Roohi Saleem 'Serenity in Hues'
Located in White Plains, NY
Available at Madelyn Jordon Fine Art. 'Serenity In Hues' 2022 by Roohi Saleem. Oil and oil sticks on canvas, 30 x 30 in. This pastel painting ...
Category

2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil Crayon, Oil

Mixed media, oil painting, Stanley Boxer 'Pindewegunglasgemut'
By Stanley Boxer
Located in White Plains, NY
Available at Madelyn Jordon Fine Art. 'Pindewegunglasgemut' by Stanley Boxer, 1994. Oil and mixed media on canvas, 50 x 26.75 in. / Frame: 51 x 27.75 in. This painting has an active...
Category

1990s Abstract Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil

Abstract Oil Painting by Roohi Saleem 'Words Vs Action II'
Located in White Plains, NY
'Words Vs Action II' 2025 by Roohi Saleem. Oil and oil sticks on canvas, 66 x 44 in. This pastel painting is constructed as a dense compostition of abstract forms, featuring various ...
Category

2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings

Materials

Oil Crayon, Oil

Abstract Oil Painting by Roohi Saleem 'Magnetized Form'
Located in White Plains, NY
Available at Madelyn Jordon Fine Art. 'Magnetized Form' 2022 by Roohi Saleem. Oil and oil sticks on canvas, 40 x 40 in. This colorful painting is constructed as a dense compostition...
Category

2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Oil Crayon, Oil

You May Also Like

"Museum Abstract", 50x70" acrylic and enamel on canvas
By Harald Marinius Olson
Located in Southampton, NY
This large painting titled "Museum Abstract" measures 50x70" on canvas. The dynamic surface textures and interesting and unique shapes painted by Mr. Olson achieve a fluid movement ...
Category

2010s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Enamel

"Colorful Stories" by Masri - Large Gestural Contemporary Abstract Expressionist
By Masri Hayssam
Located in Carmel, CA
Masri (Lebanese, born 1965) "Colorful Stories" 2018 Acrylic paint, Oil paint, Mixed Media, Canvas, Stretcher bars The artist signed the back of the painting. "Colorful Stories" by M...
Category

2010s Abstract Expressionist Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Mixed Media, Oil, Acrylic, Stretcher Bars

Abstract-132, Painting, Acrylic on Canvas
Located in Yardley, PA
Abstract-132 Original abstract painting Size- 48"x36" o o o o It was painted with Artist Acrylic colours. The sides are painted too. I always offer exclusive my original pain...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Abstract Expressionist Paintings

Materials

Acrylic

El Gozo de la Tribu, Contemporary Art, Abstract Painting, 21st Century
By Enrique Pichardo
Located in Mexico City, MX
Contemporary Art, Abstract Painting Acrylic on canvas 204x340cm Signed FREE SHIPPING ROLLED UP About the artist Enrique Pichardo (Mexico City, 19...
Category

2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Commission Africano, Contemporary Art, Abstract Painting, 21st Century
By Enrique Pichardo
Located in Mexico City, MX
Commission painting Production time 3 weeks Contemporary Art, Abstract Painting Acrylic on canvas 150 x 200 cm Signed FREE SHIPPING ROLLED UP About the artist Enrique Pichardo (Me...
Category

2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic

Psicodélico, Contemporary Art, Abstract Painting, 21st Century
By Enrique Pichardo
Located in Mexico City, MX
Contemporary Art, Abstract Painting Acrylic on canvas 160 x 190 cm Signed FREE SHIPPING ROLLED UP About the artist Enrique Pichardo (Mexico City, 1973) graduated from Escuela Nacio...
Category

2010s Abstract Abstract Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Acrylic