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Paradiso
2004
66 x 120 in. (167.64 x 304.8 cm)
Sandow Birk (Detroit, Michigan, 1962 - ) Primary
Dante and Artistic Translation, September 11 – December 19, 2021, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.
To Hell and Back: Sandow Birk’s Divine Comedy, February 18, 2012 - September 16, 2012, Historic Wing, Paul L. Davies Gallery, San José Museum of Art.
Real and HyperReal, January 30, 2010 - August 1, 2010, New Wing, First Floor, Gibson Family and Plaza Galleries, San José Museum of Art.
To Hell and Back: Sandow Birk’s Divine Comedy (2012)
Loosely based on the Hudson River Valley School style of painting—in particular The Oxbow by Thomas Cole—Sandow Birk’s vision of a futuristic international paradise fuses actual landmarks from various global cities. Paradiso joins the hills of San Francisco with the coastline of Los Angeles via New York’s Brooklyn Bridge with the “Hell’s Gate” Bridge to Queens in the background. The freeways and skyscrapers—a blend of Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City, and New York—are symbolically cleansed with a purifying shower of rain.
Real and HyperReal (2010)
In Paradiso, Sandow Birk concluded his interpretation of Dante Alighieri’s classic text , 1308 – 21. Birk injects satire into his exacting realism as he blends cities such as Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City, and New York. The hills of
San Francisco join the Los Angeles coastline with the “Hell’s Gate” bridge to Queens in the background. Paradiso is loosely based on the style of Hudson River Valley School painting—in particular The Oxbow, 1836, by Thomas Cole. In contrast to Dante’s vision of paradise as a place reserved exclusively for devout Christians, Birk’s vision includes worshipers circling the Kaba'a in Mecca, the most sacred Muslim site.
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Paradiso
Painting
200466 x 120 in. (167.64 x 304.8 cm)
Sandow Birk (Detroit, Michigan, 1962 - ) Primary
Object Type: Painting
Medium and Support: Oil on canvas
Credit Line: Museum purchase with funds contributed by the Collection Committee
Accession Number: 2005.11
Exhibition
Dante and Artistic Translation, September 11 – December 19, 2021, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.
To Hell and Back: Sandow Birk’s Divine Comedy, February 18, 2012 - September 16, 2012, Historic Wing, Paul L. Davies Gallery, San José Museum of Art.
Real and HyperReal, January 30, 2010 - August 1, 2010, New Wing, First Floor, Gibson Family and Plaza Galleries, San José Museum of Art.
SJMA Label Text
To Hell and Back: Sandow Birk’s Divine Comedy (2012)
Loosely based on the Hudson River Valley School style of painting—in particular The Oxbow by Thomas Cole—Sandow Birk’s vision of a futuristic international paradise fuses actual landmarks from various global cities. Paradiso joins the hills of San Francisco with the coastline of Los Angeles via New York’s Brooklyn Bridge with the “Hell’s Gate” Bridge to Queens in the background. The freeways and skyscrapers—a blend of Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City, and New York—are symbolically cleansed with a purifying shower of rain.
Real and HyperReal (2010)
In Paradiso, Sandow Birk concluded his interpretation of Dante Alighieri’s classic text , 1308 – 21. Birk injects satire into his exacting realism as he blends cities such as Tokyo, Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City, and New York. The hills of
San Francisco join the Los Angeles coastline with the “Hell’s Gate” bridge to Queens in the background. Paradiso is loosely based on the style of Hudson River Valley School painting—in particular The Oxbow, 1836, by Thomas Cole. In contrast to Dante’s vision of paradise as a place reserved exclusively for devout Christians, Birk’s vision includes worshipers circling the Kaba'a in Mecca, the most sacred Muslim site.
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Exhibition List
This object was included in the following exhibitions: - Real and HyperReal San Jose Museum of Art , 1/30/2010 - 8/1/2010
Dimensions
- Image Dimensions: 66 x 120 in. (167.64 x 304.8 cm)
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