The touring exhibition Al Farrow: Wrath and Reverence made its eighth and final stop at the Southern Utah Museum of Art (SUMA) on the Southern Utah University campus. The exhibition explored the relationship between religion and violence through sculptures inspired by Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.
Al Farrow's work features ornate sculptures depicting religious structures, ritual objects, and reliquaries. The artist uses unconventional materials such as steel, glass, bone, bullets, and deconstructed guns. Farrow stated that he uses the beauty of religious architecture to attract viewers to closer inspection, where they discover the sculptures are made with violent materials. He expressed hope that viewers would consider the historical relationship between religion and war.
The exhibition included a loan from the de Young Museum, part of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, for the work titled The Spine and Tooth of Santo Guerro. This 2007 sculpture is inspired by European Catholic cathedrals and houses the spine of a fictional saint of war as a commentary on how many European cathedrals were built to view religious relics.
SUMA director and curator Jessica Farling noted that securing the loan from the de Young Museum was a great achievement for the museum and the local arts community. She stated that exhibitions like Wrath and Reverence help Cedar City maintain its reputation as Utah's destination for the arts.
The exhibition was on display through October 5, 2019. During the exhibition, the museum hosted several events, including a public talk with Farrow at the Hunter Conference Center and a gallery talk with Farling.
