Jim Isermann

Using a wide variety of materials—fabric, painted wood, metal, stained glass, vinyl, and plastics—Jim Isermann analyzes a space, then designs patterns and forms that respond to it. Pattern, color, geometry, and repetition are the cornerstones and generators of his work. Isermann begins a work with a pattern and then devises a system with a finite number of variations and a color palette to generate the design of each painting.

For this work Untitled, which was commissioned for Palm Springs Art Museum, Isermann began by designing a primary unit with a minimal palette, and the ultimate design solution evolved from its architectural setting in the museum itself. This wall installation includes 235 panels configured from ten differently sized modules. The arrangement of the modules includes both rectilinear pattern and a diagonal line creating a dizzying distorted grid.

About the patterning in his work Isermann says, “I like creating a complex pattern from the repetition of relatively simple elements. I find something sublime about the attempt to create order through math.” His refined sensibility as both artist and designer brings a powerful visual and spatial perspective for a viewer in the museum’s interior.