HYPERALLERGIC
By Julia Friedman
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| Sandow Birk, “The Triumph of Fear”(2017) acrylic on canvas; 46 x 54 inches |
Sandow Birk’s exhibition at
PPOW Gallery,
Triumph of Hate, examines dark strains in the culture and politics of the United States, including Trump, gun violence, white supremacy, and greed. Birk’s body of work is unusual in that its explicit politics don’t read as overly didactic — a difficult line to walk successfully.
Triumph of Hate is comprised of three distinct bodies of work: a series of satirical prints about Trumpian exploits, graphically violent paintings examining recent events, and a triptych of woodblock prints representing the battle of good versus evil throughout American history. [
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| Sandow Birk and Elyse Pignolet, (Detail) “American Procession” (2017) hand-embellished with gold acrylic; printed on Gampi paper using a Dufa flatbed offset press; sheets are joined and backed twice with sekishu kozo paper; overall: 48 x 480 inches; side panels: 36 x 204 inches; center panel: 48 x 72 inches Edition of 6 + 2 APs (courtesy the artists; Mullowney Printing, San Francisco; and P.P.0.W, New York) |
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| Sandow Birk, “The Horrible & Terrible Deeds & Words of the Very Renowned Trumpagruel” (2017) portfolio of ten stone lithographs on Fabriano Tiepolo paper, with colophon; 15 x 11 inches each; edition of 10 + 1 AP (all photos courtesy the artist and P.P.O.W, New York unless otherwise noted) |
