In response to a decade of travel to various Islamic regions of the world and his own research into Islamic religion, American artist Sandow Birk created a large series of codex–like paintings adapting the techniques and stylistic devices of Arabic and Persian painting and albums, blending the past with the present, the East with the West, creating his “American Qur’an”.

Presented in the form of illuminated verses and using an English translation of the Qur’an in hand rendered text that is an amalgam of Islamic calligraphy and the letters of urban graffiti that he finds around his Los Angeles neighborhood, Birk illuminates the verses with scenes from contemporary American experiences, both at home and abroad. The project, when finished, will illustrate the entire 114 suras of the Qur’an, 83 of which are represented in American Qur’an: Works by Sandow Birk.

WORKS
85

DIMENSIONS

19 x 27 to 58 x 35 (inches)

SPACE REQUIREMENTS

400 linear feet (122 linear meters)

INQUIRIES

exhibitions@curatorial.org
626.577.0044

ARTIST BIOGRAPHY

Los Angeles artist Sandow Birk is a well traveled graduate of the Otis/Parson's Art Institute. Frequently developed as expansive, multi-media projects, his works have dealt with contemporary life in its entirety. With an emphasis on social issues, frequent themes of his past work have included inner city violence, graffiti, political issues, travel, war, and prisons, as well as surfing and skateboarding. He was a recipient of an NEA International Travel Grant to Mexico City in 1995 to study mural painting, a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1996, and a Fulbright Fellowship for painting to Rio de Janeiro for 1997. In 1999 he was awarded a Getty Fellowship for painting, followed by a City of Los Angeles (COLA) Fellowship in 2001. In 2007 he was an artist in residence at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC, and at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris in 2008. His most recent project involves a consideration of the Qur’an as relevant to contemporary life in America.