James Isherwood
Apparition, 2021
In James Isherwood’s recent landscapes, elements are rarely as expected. Skies are bright pink or …
James Isherwood lives and works in New York City, but his paintings are filled with architectural dwellings sourced from elsewhere. In a commentary on luxury real estate, Isherwood has painted uninhabited residences imagined as spaces for retreat and social gathering; yet in their absence of humans they explore changes in global economic status, as well as ideas of reflection, calm, and hibernation in places of idealized retreat. In recent work, Isherwood has represented generic images of barns that combine formal abstract painting with drawing, and focus on the interaction of geometry, color, and texture—the latter achieved in as many as 100 layers on a single painting in a process of layering, sanding, and imprinting objects. The simplicity of the colors and forms in these structures highlights their changing appearance and creates space for Isherwood's imagined realities.
In James Isherwood’s recent landscapes, elements are rarely as expected. Skies are bright pink or yellow, the grass is not always green, and mountain ranges are kaleidoscopic. The artist has found a place where fantasy and reality merge to create a third zone, one led by imagination and memory. Atmosphere and place …
James Isherwood lives and works in New York City, but his paintings are filled with architectural dwellings sourced from elsewhere. In a commentary on luxury real estate, Isherwood has painted uninhabited residences imagined as spaces for retreat and social gathering; yet in their absence of humans they explore changes in global economic status, as well as ideas of reflection, calm, and hibernation in places of idealized retreat. In recent work, Isherwood has represented generic images of barns that combine formal abstract painting with drawing, and focus on the interaction of geometry, color, and texture—the latter achieved in as many as 100 layers on a single painting in a process of layering, sanding, and imprinting objects. The simplicity of the colors and forms in these structures highlights their changing appearance and creates space for Isherwood's imagined realities.
