The recent “American Dream 2” by artist Parvez Taj—part of his Americana Collection—combines two iconic images of the American experience. The first, of course, is the distressed beauty of the famed emblem known as “Old Glory” and the second is reclaimed wood. But the latter isn’t just any timber salvaged from the junk heap, but rather the proud planks of dilapidated barns, born to a second life as this particular artist’s unusual palette.

American Dream 2. Designed and Created by Parvez Taj.

Parvez Taj Gives Warped and Worn Wood a Second Life as Enduring Works of Art

Self-tasked with the laudable objective of creating innovative art for contemporary living, artist Taj is certainly on to something with his Americana Series. Each of the items in this timely collection evokes a quintessential bit of life in the U.S.A. Nor—and in spite of the upcoming holiday—are these artworks just banal patriotism, but rather thoughtful pieces that deftly toe the line between “loving it and leaving it.”

To look at American Dream 2—Taj’s expertly rendered take on an American Flag—I’m reminded of the work of Bruce Springsteen from the Born in the U.S.A era. Often mis-read, this album was a complex engagement of the U.S.’s geopolitical and social shortcomings, albeit infused throughout with the will and the desire to love the country, for its virtues as well as failings.

American Dream 2, which Taj created from the crumbling detritus of certain chosen white barns across the American Midwest, is battered but not broken; marked by the ravages of weather and time, but all the better for it; pocked by the knots, stains, and bucklings that an old barn is heir to; far from pristine, but beautiful even so: “These imperfections add character and patina to this fine work of art.”

About the Artist: In addition to being an interior designer and product developer, Parvez Taj is also a highly regarded artist whose work is in great demand throughout the U.S. His preferred media include acrylic, reclaimed sorghum straw, bamboo, and aluminum. His oversized canvases on acrylic, and aluminum do double duty as wall art and as some of the most stylish and intriguing room partitions you’ll ever see.