The Artwork and Reflections of Joseph H. Sulkowski
Edited by Brooke Chilver
Front cover Apokalupsis Mural 2023, detail
"The exhibitions [Morris Museum of Art and AKC's Museum of the Dog] are priviledged to host in 2024 offer a kind of career overview through 30 paintings that span Sulkowski's long career, but the highlight is without doubt his monumental Apokalupsis, a mural-sized painting which is 8 feet tall and very nearly 13 feet wide. It is the product of a lifetime of personal reflection and the artist's contemplation of the very meaning of human existence. His use of dog imagery is his vehicle for the expression of an allegorical theme that is important to him. He means to state through this image that all of life is connected. All is One.
As a sporting artist, Sulkowski developed a following among collectors across the world for his masterful paintings of dogs. Years of observation of canine behavior spoke to him of our human condition and inspired the insight that led to Apokalupsis. He saw dogs as a metaphor for humanity and the landscape they inhabit as a symbol for the time and space humans negotiate in their daily lives. This monumental composition contains references to the Seven Deadly Sins, Five Senses, Four Elements, and Three Graces bringing to life the elements that influence our relationships and awareness of one another."
Alan Fausel - Curator, AKC Museum of the Dog
Kevin Grogan - Director, Morris Museum of Art