Book of Life

by David Kracov

Magnificent sculpture in painted metal by David Kracov, Book of Life is among the most celebrated and meaningful works by the American artist.

From an open book a multitude of butterflies comes out, rising upwards like they are about to fly away. Thus David Kracov, artist with a unique imagination, creates an enchanting interweaving of colors and shapes resulting in the charge of energy and positivity typical of his art. The butterfly is the artist’s iconic animal, featuring in other masterpieces like the wall-sculpture by David Kracov My Heart Is All a Flutter.
Thanks to the success of the artist, his works feature in the collections of several Hollywood stars. About that we highlight the artist's collaboration with the Douglas family for which David Kracov created the iconic The Book of Life to honour the Hollywood legend Kirk Douglas.

Book of Life measures 44x60x41 cm.

The Meaning of the Work by David Kracov Book of Life

Despite the dreamy and spontaneous nature of this sculpture, the meaning of the work by David Kracov Book of Life is deep and unexpected.

The work was created as a tribute to Rabbi Yossi Raichik, director of a humanitarian foundation for children victims of the Chernobyl disaster. Each hand-painted butterfly represents the 2547 children who escaped the disaster and thanks to charity have been given a chance at a new life.

The pages of the book are instead filled with poems, diary pages and songs written by children who died in Auschwitz. The main poem of the book is "The Butterfly"by Pavel Friedman, who was just thirteen years old when he wrote it.