Last Judgement (Selfless, Deathless, No World)

2016

Last Judgement (Selfless, Deathless, No World), 2016. Greg Parma Smith (American, b. 1983). Oil paint, gesso, metallic leaf, canvas; 213.4 x 762 x 14 cm (84 x 300 x 5 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchased with funds donated by Scott Mueller and partial gift by the artist and David Lewis, New York 2016.299 The painting’s title references the final day of reckoning in the Christian tradition when all of humanity stands before God for final judgement. In this six-panel painting, the artist uses a multitude of cultural and religious symbols surrounding a rising or setting sun. The most striking is a nude woman striding forward, perhaps referencing a Christ figure. The rolled sections reveal diverse layered imagery, further suggesting the complexities of contemporary life. This artist is known for his precise painterly realism as seen in this work.