“Stop to experience a contemplative journey across an expansive, desolate landscape. These four prints, part of a celebrated series, evoke themes of creation and isolation through their stark beauty and muted tones.”
Four chromogenic prints are arranged here, capturing a stark, almost otherworldly landscape. The panels show vast, open spaces, hinting at isolation and a journey across an unforgiving terrain. The muted color palette and the expansive sky contribute to a sense of deep quiet, even spiritual contemplation. This work, titled "Deseret," is part of a larger series that explores themes of creation, mythology, and the body, often drawing on diverse cultural narratives. The images invite viewers to consider the relationship between humanity and nature, and the stories we impose upon the land. The artist, Birgit Cullberg, a Swedish choreographer, created this work in 1999, the year of her death, adding a poignant layer to its reflective quality.
- Artist
- Birgit Cullberg
- Date
- 1999
- Medium
- Four chromogenic prints in acrylic frames; edition number three of three
- Location
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Dimensions
- Panels 1 : 69.2 × 59.1 cm (27 1/4 × 23 5/16 in.); panel 2: 69.2 × 84.5 cm (27 1/4 × 33 5/16 in.); panel 3: 69.2 × 191.1 cm (27 1/4 × 75 1/4 in.); panel 4: 69.2 × 59.1 cm (27 1/4 × 23 5/16 in.); installed, framed: 69.2 × 409.6 cm (27 1/4 × 161 5/16 in.)
- Collection
- Contemporary Art
- Culture
- United States
- Credit line
- Gift of Donna and Howard Stone
What to Notice
Four details hide in plain sight. Here’s where to look.

The subtle shift in light across the four panels
The vast, empty landscape that dominates the composition
The almost monochromatic color scheme
The way the frames create a continuous narrative
Stand in front of it and listen
The full narration walks you through Cremaster 2: Deseret — the story behind it, the details most visitors miss, and why it matters. Free in the Art Whisper app.
Birgit Cullberg
1908–1999 · SwedenBirgit Cullberg, a pioneering Swedish choreographer, founded the internationally renowned Cullberg Ballet in the 1960s.
Further Works by Cullberg
More works to explore
Beyond Cullberg: works from the same years.
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Unfinished painting
Keith Haring · 1989
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Pat Hearn
Andy Warhol · 1985 · Art Institute of Chicago
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Kiki (Smith)
Chuck Close · 2000 · Art Institute of Chicago
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Untitled (Portrait of Ross in L.A.)
Félix González-Torres · 1991
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Near the Lagoon
Jasper Johns · 2002 · Art Institute of Chicago
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American Horizon
Jane Wooster Scott · 2000 · Art Institute of Chicago
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Cremaster 5: The Queen of Chain
Matthew Barney · 1997 · Art Institute of Chicago
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Wu Street
Xu Bing · 1993 · Art Institute of Chicago
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A Torso / Toxic Drawing
Romero Britto · 2011 · Art Institute of Chicago
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Thistles
Michele Elizabeth Field · 2004 · Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Same era · 1980s–2010s
It's a New Age
William Hook · 1992 · Art Institute of Chicago
Same era · 1980s–2010s
Krach
Philip West · 1987 · Art Institute of Chicago

