"Sweet Oblivion" 1983 acrylic on canvas by Martin Wong (1946-1999) at #artinstituteofchicago the Art Institute of Chicago. Written near the painting: Martin Wong's paintings combine painstaking documentary realism with highly charged symbols and decorative motifs. Wong moved to New York from San Francisco in 1978, joining a lively East Village scene filled with artists making political work inspired by their personal and cultural experiences. Illustrating a modern-day ruin with the epic scale of traditional history painting, "Sweet Oblivion" depicts a decaying tenement near the artist's home and studio. Wong's trademark hands alight on the surface of a fiery, apocalyptic sky, reiterating the painting’s caption in American Sign Language finger spelling. Typical of Wong's canvases, these delicately gilded characters—which pay homage to graffiti art, Persian scripts, and hieroglyphics—stand out in stark contrast to the otherwise bleak scene. #martinwong #sweetoblivion #aic #artinstituteofchicago #acryliconcanvas #i❤️ny #exploringnewyork #dailyritual #exploringnewyorkweek (at The Art Institute of Chicago)