Twilight Painting II
Series TitleParadis Lost
Artist
Raqib Shaw
(Indian, born 1974)
Date2012-2013
MediumOil, acrylic, enamel, glitter, and rhinestones on Birch wood
DimensionsOverall: 36 × 60 inches (91.44 × 152.4 cm)
Credit LinePurchase: acquired through the generosity of the William T. Kemper Foundation–Commerce Bank, Trustee
Object number2014.1
On View
Not on viewCollections
DescriptionThis large, rectilinear format painting depicts a fantastic scene featuring real and mythological animals, warriors, vegetation and architecture. Set against a gradient of a darkening blue sky, a group of embattled centaurs and warriors in horse-drawn chariots tumble down a monumental stairway as the stone tiled floors and walls that support them crumble beneath their feet. The horrific events are framed beneath a large craggy tree, which grows from the right side of the composition and extends across the top of the scene. The imagery in the painting is drawn from multiple artistic and cultural sources, including classical mythology, Japanese paintings and prints, animal headed warriors from Indian and Indonesian iconography, renaissance sculpture and baroque architecture. The artist uses multiple materials including gold paint, glitter and rhinestones, creating a dazzling and richly textured surface.Exhibition HistoryRaqib Shaw: Paradise Lost, Pace Gallery, New York, November 8, 2013-January 11, 2014, unnumbered, as Twilight Painting II –Paradise Lost II.
Raqib Shaw’s Twilight Painting II is part of a series called Paradise Lost, which depicts an imaginary apocalyptic world. Bizarre creatures engage in combat as the stage-like architecture crumbles beneath them and opens to an empty blue void. Shaw created this dynamic scene by combining unusual materials. He used glitter, gems and rhinestones and applied automotive enamel paints with porcupine quills. The artist has not discussed the specific meaning of this work. It is possible, however, that it relates to the violence and political unrest in his childhood home, Kashmir, India.
With Pace Gallery, New York, by 2013.
Purchased from Pace Gallery by The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO, 2014.
Pace Gallery, Raqib Shaw: Paradise Lost, exh. cat. (New York: Pace Gallery, 2013), 37, (repro.).
Alex Needham, "The Garden of Earthly Delights," in W Magazine (November 2013): 98, 100.
Mary M. Lane, "A Blend of Beauty and Violence," in Wall Street Journal (November 15, 2013): D8.
"Art of Asia Acquired by North American Museums, 2013-2014," in Archives of Asian Art 65, no. 1 and 2 (2015): 219, (repro.).
Copyright© Raqib Shaw
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