Untitled (Cubeweave)

Favoring household materials and self-taught techniques, California-based Jim Isermann resituates retro designs and handcrafted processes within the realm of fine art. While Isermann’s early work directly confronts the 1950s appropriation of the oeuvres of artists such as Jean Arp, Alexander Calder, and Joan Miró for commercial design, his mature projects engage the exchange between high and low culture in more subtle ways by reinterpreting the agendas of Pop Art, Op Art, and Minimalism for the needs of contemporary design. Untitled (Cubeweave), a work of singular importance in Isermann’s career, belongs to a series of textile cube pieces. An outer fabric, meticulously handwoven by the artist, tightly encases an underlying structure of foam. Although the cubic form speaks directly to Minimalism, the irresistible sensual effects and everyday technique used in this work evoke vernacular objects and spaces, entirely recontextualizing the sculpture.