Religion in art

Banksy - Forgive Us Our Trespassing, 2011, acrylic, spray paint and marker pens on wooden panel, in four parts, 655 x 421 cm (257⅞ x 165¾ in) feat

Banksy’s monumental stained glass window – Forgive us our trespassing

Graffiti, Paintings, Stained Glass Windows, Street Art / 4 minutes of reading

Banksy’s Stained-Glass painting was commissioned by the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, California. The artwork shows a painted old stained glass window with the glass panes of the window covered with graffiti. At the front, we can see a young boy in street clothes kneeling and praying in front of a paintbrush …

Banksy’s monumental stained glass window – Forgive us our trespassing Read More »

Nataraja-Shiva-2004-bronze-2-meters-installation-view-CERN-Meyrin-Switzerland feat

Why is there a statue of Shiva the Destroyer at CERN?

Sculptures, Statues / 9 minutes of reading

If you have been keeping up with the happenings of the CERN, the world’s most advanced scientific research facility, you might have noticed the statue of Shiva the Destroyer. Shiva, the cosmic dancer, symbolizes the natural flow of divine energy. He takes part in Rudra Tandava – a dance representing destruction and rebirth- to …

Why is there a statue of Shiva the Destroyer at CERN? Read More »

African Renaissance Monument, 2010, bronze, 49 meter (161 feet), Ouakam suburb, Dakar, Senegal feat

The African Renaissance Monument – Africa’s most controversial statue

Sculptures, Statues / 12 minutes of reading

This 49 meters tall bronze statue is located on top of the Collines des Mamelles – one of the twin hills – in the Senegalese capital Dakar. It overlooks the Atlantic Ocean just outside the city in the Ouakam neighborhood. The African Renaissance Monument was designed by renowned Senegalese architect Pierre Goudiaby Atepa following …

The African Renaissance Monument – Africa’s most controversial statue Read More »

Banksy – Cardinal Sin, 2006, defaced stone bust, bathroom tiles, 180 x 40 x 40 cm feat

Banksy’s Cardinal Sin – An expose of rot within this institution

Sculptures, Street Art / 5 minutes of reading

This piece by Banksy is unlike anything he has done before. For the street artist, vandalizing an ancient statue and putting on it his personal touch drove the intended message home. Looking at the sculpture, it is clearly the bust of a catholic priest, complete with a cross pendant and mass vestments. …

Banksy’s Cardinal Sin – An expose of rot within this institution Read More »

Fazzini’s The Resurrection – The Vatican’s creepy sculpture behind the pope

Sculptures / 10 minutes of reading

Ever heard about the ‘demonic’ idol in the Vatican? Well, this refers to the large modern sculpture depicting the resurrection of Jesus, a backdrop work of art behind the stage in Paul VI Audience Hall. The Paul VI Audience Halls draws many conspiracy theories not only due to this sculpture that people swear is …

Fazzini’s The Resurrection – The Vatican’s creepy sculpture behind the pope Read More »

Marc Chagall & His 12 stained glass windows in Jerusalem

Stained Glass Windows / 5 minutes of reading

In early 1962, renowned artist Marc Chagall stood in the synagogue at the Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Centers in Jerusalem. Above him were twelve stained-glass windows that he had designed himself. It was this where he delivered a touching speech. Chagall had an audience of about three hundred people as he installed the windows, including …

Marc Chagall & His 12 stained glass windows in Jerusalem Read More »

Dawoud Bey’s Birmingham project & this 1963 tragedy

Photography / 5 minutes of reading

Birmingham Project Dawoud Bey’s career focuses on portraying American youth as well as those from marginalized communities. He does so with an uncommon degree of sympathy and complexity. The 16th Street Baptist Church bombing His Birmingham Project is a deeply felt and abstractly rich tribute to the victims of the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing …

Dawoud Bey’s Birmingham project & this 1963 tragedy Read More »

Shirin Neshat & her iconic Speechless photo

Photography / 4 minutes of reading

Background Through the course of her very illustrious career, internationally celebrated artist Shirin Neshat has covered an array of themes in film, video, and photography. Her works cover several themes, including politics in Muslim nations, issues of gender equity and disparity, identity, as well as the link between the personal and the political. As a …

Shirin Neshat & her iconic Speechless photo Read More »

Anselm Kiefer - Breaking of the Vessels (Bruch der Gefäße), 1990, Saint Louis Art Museum

Anselm Kiefer’s Breaking of the vessels refers to..?

Sculptures / 3 minutes of reading

Anselm Kiefer’s work can be best described as unshrinking. Unlike so many German artists from his generation, Keifer has made a successful career out of facing up to the political injustices of the world, particularly the fascist regimes’ atrocities that were committed against the Jews during World War 2. Though he was …

Anselm Kiefer’s Breaking of the vessels refers to..? Read More »

Rothko-Chapel-exterior-with-Broken-Obelisk-by-Barnett-Newman-at-the-Rothko-Chapel-Houston-Texas-feat

What is Rothko’s Chapel in Houston all about?

Architecture, Paintings / 3 minutes of reading

History of the Rothko Chapel The Rothko Chapel has been providing a space for people in need of spiritual guidance and meditation since it was established back in 1971. The Rothko Chapel was founded and dedicated as an intimate sanctuary that was open for anyone of any religious or spiritual belief by Houston philanthropists Dominique …

What is Rothko’s Chapel in Houston all about? Read More »

Zhang Huan in suit made from raw meat (video)

Performances / 3 minutes of reading

Zhang Huan is one of China’s best known conceptual and performance artists. In his sculptures and paintings, he references the history of his home country. As such, his pieces contain components of political, religious and intellectual messages and anonymous portrait and landscape scenes. Most of his works are deeply influenced by …

Zhang Huan in suit made from raw meat (video) Read More »

Shirin Neshat’s Book of Kings captures the faces of the Arab Spring riots

Photography / 3 minutes of reading

The Gladstone Gallery and the Faurschou Foundation in Beijing, China are just some of the art spaces that have had the pleasure of exhibiting Shirin Neshat’s The Book of Kings. The exhibition consisted of a total of 56 black and white photos framed in unmated and black frames that were hung across the two …

Shirin Neshat’s Book of Kings captures the faces of the Arab Spring riots Read More »

Shirin Neshat’s Rapture – Veiled women in their traditional Islamic attire

Performances, Photography / 3 minutes of reading

Rapture is a projection of black and white video where Iranian artist Shirin Neshat gives a narrative that concerns the differences between Muslim women and men. Neshat has used the video projection to explore the cultural and social role of women in the Islamic World and shot the work in Morocco with a cast …

Shirin Neshat’s Rapture – Veiled women in their traditional Islamic attire Read More »

Zhang Huan’s Ash Buddha – 20 tons of incense ash to create them

Sculptures, Statues / 2 minutes of reading

Zhang Huan’s Ash Buddhas Zhang Huan, born in 1965, started his career as a painter and then moved to performance art and then resorted back to painting. He is also a sculptor and photographer, but his main focus is on being a performance artist. He has made extensive use of ash throughout his career and …

Zhang Huan’s Ash Buddha – 20 tons of incense ash to create them Read More »

Religion in art - example

Start typing and press enter to search

Stay in touch

Want inspiration in your inbox?