“American Qur’an: Sura 55,” 2012 , Acrylic and mixed media on paper, 16" x 24"
May 2012 by SHANA NYS DAMBROT , Los Angeles
“New Suras” is the second installment of three in painter Sandow
Birk’s ambitious project, American Qur’an. Although a continuation of
the same body of work, in this middle part his comfort level with the
material and confidence in its rendering have noticeably increased.
Birk’s precisely rendered, filigree-bordered panels are more than
merely a modernized illustration of this major text, of which little is
really understood in the West, but neither is he attempting a serious