Phoenix (Again)
ArtistMade by
Reem Bassous
Date2018
PeriodContemporary
MediumAcrylic, graphite, and water-soluable carbon on wood
DimensionsOverall: 16 × 7 (487.8 × 213.4cm)
Frame: 96 1/2 in., 17 (245.1 × 518.3cm)
ClassificationsPaintings
Credit LineDoris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art (Programmatic Acquisition)
Object number37.10
DescriptionThis work is an abstract study of fragmentation, wayfinding, and layering at Shangri La. The strong graphic underpinnings are suggestive of Kufic script, but are blueprints of the site, outlining the artist’s daily walk to and from Shangri La as she worked on the mural. A striated phoenix/simurgh emerging from the right-hand side of the composition symbolizes renewal, an activity currently underway at Shangri La. The work is overlain with a reflective blue paint – known, rather poetically, as “interference” – which interacts with the waterways in front of the panel, injecting an intriguing visual note, and subtly references Shangri La’s shimmering collections of lusterware ceramics on view in the Mihrab Hallway.On View
Not on viewCollections
1750-1800, with some panels added in 1953-54
20th century
20th century
