Madelyn Jordon Fine Art Words: From Spoken to Seen WOSENE WORKE KOSROF paintings GARY DIPASQUALE ceramics

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Wosene Worke Kosrof – “Words: From Spoken to Seen”
May 11 – June 30, 2007

Madelyn Jordon Fine Art is pleased to present its first solo exhibition of paintings by internationally acclaimed contemporary artist, Wosene Worke Kosrof, entitled: Wosene Worke Kosrof : “ Words: From Spoken to Seen”, running from May 11th - June 30, 2007. An opening reception for the artist, featuring live jazz will be held on Fri., May 11, 2007 from 6:30 - 9 p.m., with a gallery talk by the artist at 7 p.m. Previews and private showings are by appointment only.

A studio painter for more than 35 years, Kosrof was academically trained as a fine artist in Ethiopia and the United States and was among the first African contemporary artists to gain critical international attention. Now 100 years since Picasso adopted imagery from African masks to develop modern Western painting, Kosrof has turned another artistic corner combining written letters of the ancient Amharic language of Ethiopia with elements of American-style gestural painting by such New York School artists as Robert Motherwell, and Willem de Kooning.

Kosrof is best known for his ingenious renderings of the Amharic script, one of the world’s oldest languages, and he is the first Ethiopian-born contemporary artist to incorporate these symbols as a root element in fine art paintings. In his color-drenched, densely detailed canvases, the artists elongates, distorts and assembles the symbols into forms that have universal meaning or appeal rather than forming legible words. American jazz
improvisations and 80’s graffiti art are a source of inspiration for the artist and give movement and animation to the canvas while highlighting his masterful use of color.

Kosrof’s timeless, dynamic artistic expression crosses cultures and international boundaries. His canvases move beyond cultural and national confines to a unique universal visual language. As noted journalist Jack Fischer writes, “Wosene Kosrof’s art is “a fascinating study of what ethnic identity can mean in a global age.”

Kosrof’s works are in 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.


Madelyn Jordon Fine Art
14 Chase Road
Scarsdale, NY 10583
Tel: (914) 723-8738
E-mail: info@madelynjordonfineart.com
Tues-Sat 10-5:30 PM