Pattern, color, geometry, and repetition are the cornerstones and generators of Palm Springs artist Jim Isermann’s work in all mediums. His new exhibition, Jim Isermann. Copy. Pattern. Repeat., is currently on view Palm Springs Art Museum’s Architecture and Design Center, and features nearly 50 of the artist’s paintings and sculptures as well as a site-specific installation.
The exhibition title refers to Isermann’s approach, which begins with the creation of a pattern and a system with a finite number of variations. The works in a series represent the number of variations, or iterations, that are possible within a particular system.
The exhibition has transformed the A+D Center into an exuberant environment, and includes three main elements that, when taken together, underscore the richness and underlying themes and ideas of Isermann's work and his creation of "total design", or gesamtkunstwerk. This includes the Flower series, an iconic body of work from 1985-86, which comprises paintings, light fixtures, a mobile, and furniture. The exhibition also includes a new series of twelve paintings inspired by the modernist glass-and-steel architecture of the A+D Center. Each painting is a variation on the theme of a transparent cube and features an iteration of a prescribed geometric pattern or system in red, white, and blue.
PHOTOGRAPH BY LANCE GERBER
Works from Isermann’s Flower series from 1985-86.
Finally, Isermann has covered the interior and exterior windows of center with a site-specific vinyl decal installation which serves as a metaphorical hedge that encloses the "garden" of the Flower series and the paintings representing the transparent cube of the building. Together, the exhibition is an immersive experience for exhibition visitors, which is a signature of Isermann’s work.
The exhibition is organized by Brooke Hodge, Director of Architecture and Design, Palm Springs Art Museum.
Jim Isermann. Copy. Pattern. Repeat. is on view until Sept. 27, 2020 at Palm Springs Art Museum Architecture and Design Center, Edwards Harris Pavilion, 300 S. Palm Canyon Dr., Palm Springs, CA 92262.
For more information about Palm Springs Art Museum exhibitions, programs, and events, please visit psmuseum.org or call (760) 322-4800.
Jim Isermann, Untitled (3, 5, 7, out), 2018, acrylic on canvas over aluminum, 48 x 48 x 2 in., Collection of L.J. Cella.