Biographical Sketch —

Born in Ethiopia in 1950, Wosene Worke Kosrof is a contemporary artist of international acclaim. Known best for his inventive use of the Amharic script - one of the oldest in Africa - Wosene is a master translator of the human experience. His richly colored and textured paintings allow is to "see" the sounds, fragrances, rhythms, and spaces that inspire him. Through his work, Wosene takes us beyond the canvas into a personal exploration of - in his words - the "drama of human life."

Academically trained as a fine artist at the School of Fine Arts in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (BFA) and at Howard University in Washington, DC (MFA), Wosene was among the first African contemporary artists to gain critical attention on the international art scene. However, having lived outside Ethiopia since the late 1970s, the artist draws from all the places he has called home and, as such, resists fixed and facile labels that characterize him or his art as essentially "African." It is indeed this ability to elude category, the familiar and the foreign, traditional and modernity, that has made Wosene's work compelling to such diverse international audiences.

The density and pliability of written symbols - particularly of his native Amharic - has fascinated Wosene for more than 30 years. In his hands, words become images, as he elongates, distorts, disassembles, and inverts the language symbols, composing them in color across the canvas. Discovering this tension between the visual and literal dimensions of script was a kind of epiphany for the artist and revealed to him that these language symbols are a rich repository for aesthetic and sensual expression.

A primary influence in Wosene's paintings is music: jazz - the rhythms, compositions, counterpoints, and improvisations of such artists as John Coltrane, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, or Dizzy Gillespie; and the traditional and experimental music of many older generation and contemporary Ethiopian musicians. Music underlies his paintings, animating the language symbols and emboldening his inventive use of color.

Wosene's works are included in the permanent collections of numerous museums, including the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art (DC); The Newark Museum (NJ); Neuberger Museum (NY); Indianapolis Museum of Art (IN); Birmingham Museum of Art (AL); Fowler Museum (CA); Samuel P. Harn Museum (FL); National Museum, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; and the City Museum of Addis Ababa. His paintings are exhibited in the US and international galleries; and his works are included in many international private, public, and corporate collections.

Wosene lives in Berkeley, CA and works in his Oakland, CA studio.

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