An in-depth exploration of Shaws most recent work: the ambitious, twenty-one-panel painting Paradise Lost London-based artist Raqib Shaw (b. 1974) creates fantastical yet profoundly personal works that draw upon his Indian heritage and his deep knowledge of art history. This book explores the twenty-one-panel painting Paradise Lost, Shaws most recent work and magnum opus. Premiering in an installation at the Art Institute of Chicago, the painting presents a dramatic narrativefrom the loss of an idealized Kashmiri childhood to disillusionment, hedonism, destruction, rebirth, and, ultimately, peace. Stunning new photography with close details and installation views of the work offers a glimpse of Shaws unique technique, involving industrial enamel paints that result in a luminous, cloisonné-like surface. Essays explore Shaws sprawling autobiographical work through the lens of his multiple Kashmiri, Indian, and British identities and examine the artists storytelling practice, drawing connections among European art and texts, including Miltons Paradise Lost and Dantes Divine Comedy, and identifying themes of exile, mourning, and the art of painting. This finely wrought publication offers the perfect introduction to the artist through his most ambitious work to date. Distributed for the Art Institute of Chicago
Exhibition Schedule:
Art Institute of Chicago (June 7, 2025November 15, 2026)
