Chicago City Wire

The Art Institute of Chicago has announced an upcoming exhibition titled "Raqib Shaw: Paradise Lost," set to run from June 7, 2025, to January 19, 2026. The centerpiece of the exhibition is a more than 100-foot-wide painting consisting of 21 panels by Kashmiri, London-based artist Raqib Shaw. This work represents the most ambitious and personal project in Shaw's career.

The installation offers an immersive journey through autobiography, mythology, and visionary imagination. Shaw began envisioning this piece in 1999 and started its creation in 2009. The artwork unfolds Shaw’s life story across four chapters filled with symbolic imagery such as mythical beasts, anthropomorphic hybrids, collapsing kingdoms, and transforming natural beauty.

Although earlier chapters of "Paradise Lost" have been displayed elsewhere, this exhibition marks the first occasion where all four chapters are presented together. This provides a comprehensive view of the epic painting.

Shaw was born in Calcutta and raised in Kashmir Valley amidst political upheaval. His work draws inspiration from various sources including Mughal and Persian miniatures, Renaissance altarpieces, Japanese art, Kashmiri and Urdu poetry, Hindu and Western mythology. Despite these influences, his visual style remains uniquely his own.

His artistic technique involves using automobile enamel paints applied with needle-fine syringes and manipulated with a porcupine quill. Glittering inset stones further enhance the magical quality of his scenes.

Madhuvanti Ghose, Alsdorf Associate Curator of Indian, Southeast Asian, and Himalayan Art at Arts of Asia stated: “With this installation, visitors will have the opportunity to see this monumental painting in all its breathtaking details—technique, size as well as depth.” She encourages visitors to reflect on how the artwork may resonate with their personal experiences alongside Shaw’s narrative.

Though not a direct retelling of Milton’s poem "Paradise Lost," Shaw's work reflects on various paradises lost throughout life such as childhood innocence and cultural belonging.

The exhibition is curated by Madhuvanti Ghose.