A Work of Redemptive Beauty Captivates Art Institute Visitors
- Denise Laurin
- May 11
- 2 min read
Run don't walk to the Art Institute of Chicago to see this breathtaking work of art. It will leave you awestruck for its sheer level of detail, skill, and poetic symbolism. The artist devoted over two decades to its development innovatively combining traditional materials and tools with unusual ones like automotive enamel, syringes, quills, and glittering embellishments.
You'll find the 100-foot wide multi-panel artwork displayed in the Alsdorf Gallery in Gunsaulus Hall through November 15, 2026. This juxtaposition allows visitors to experience contemporary art alongside its ancient, ancestral past. In the catalog for the exhibit, the work is described as having “redemptive beauty.” This is true in more ways than one. I found Shaw's pursuit of beauty and skill in an art world where these attributes have been undermined for so long quite reassuring.
Artist Raqib Shaw was born in Calcutta in 1974 and raised in the Kashmir Valley of the Himalayas. He and his family were forced to flee this idyllic home because of violent uprisings. Paradise Lost partially draws on the landscapes and memories of the artist's early life in India but more universally reflects on "paradises lost" throughout life–innnocence, creative freedom, mental tranquility, and belonging– experiences with which everyone can identify.
For more information: https://www.artic.edu/exhibitions/10569/raqib-shaw-paradise-lost
ART NOW-An Exploration of Contemporary Art Thursday
DATE: Thursday May 14, 2026
TIME: 1:00 PM
LOCATION:: Hanover Township Senior Center, 240 S. IL Route 59, Bartlett, IL
COST: $8
“Paradise Lost” is one of the featured artworks in my presentation on contemporary art, “ART NOW.” Learn more about “Paradise Lost” and many other contemporary works of art and art industry trends in this one-hour talk.
Register: https://www.hanover-township.org/departments/aging-services/club-59-newsletter/may-2026-registration
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