Ethiopian Artists at Art Dubai were notably some of the best African work exhibited at the fair. Fine artwork from around the world was shown at Ethiopian gallery Addis Fine Art. The gallery saw some exciting new and seasoned voices from across the globe. Two Ethiopian artists from opposite ends of the generational continuum were represented.
Wosene Worke Kosrof and Girma Berta are internationally renowned artists who superbly portray life in the sultry and earthy world of Ethiopia. Since the early 1970s, Wosene has been an actively practising studio artist in both painting and sculpture; he has spent considerable time in America. He is the first painter to transform Ethiopian Amharic script forms into what can be described as contemporary abstraction.
The painter’s career, spanning four decades, has encompassed five major painting series: “Graffiti Magic” (1980-87);“Africa: The New Alphabet” (1988-94); “Color of Words” (1995-2003); “Words: From Spoken to Seen” (2004-08); and the current sequence, entitled “WordPlay” (2009-present). Interestingly, Wosene’s creativity adjoins American painting without fully belonging to it. The Amharic script he orchestrates in his art is original enough visually to establish a style that originates outside of American painting culture. Wosene is also influenced by American jazz, its improvisational depth, and its ongoing innovation as a contemporary art medium. […] CONTINUE READING
