Sanctuary at Western Sunset

Media - 2008.38 - SAAM-2008.38_1 - 70131
Copied Tom Nakashima, Sanctuary at Western Sunset, 1992, oil on canvas, 101 1⁄2 x 120 3⁄8 in. (257.9 x 305.9 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Gail and John Enns, 2008.38

Artwork Details

Title
Sanctuary at Western Sunset
Artist
Date
1992
Location
Not on view
Dimensions
101 1⁄2 x 120 3⁄8 in. (257.9 x 305.9 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Gail and John Enns
Mediums
Mediums Description
oil on canvas
Classifications
Highlights
Keywords
  • Architecture Exterior
Object Number
2008.38
Linked Open Data
https://edan.si.edu/saam/id/object/2008.38

Artwork Description

Tom Nakashima visited Japan for the first time in 1988, inspiring the third generation Japanese American to take a deeper look into his heritage. As a form of meditation, painting is a way he explores his relationship with Eastern and Western cultures, conveyed through autobiographical imagery and a fluid use of symbols. A large chapel dominates the scene in Sanctuary at Western Sunset. It is a safe haven, a place of refuge inspired by two of Giotto's fourteenth-century frescos in the Arena Chapel in Padua, Italy. For Nakashima, the structure serves as a path to Japan and a visual representation of safety across cultures. A translucent fish, a self-portrait of the artist, approaches the threshold of the chapel as if embarking on a journey across the sea. Painted in thick, gestural brushstrokes, the fish casts a solid shadow as the sun sets over the mountainous horizon.

Videos