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22 East 80th Street, NY 10075, New York, United States
Open: Mon-Sat 10am-6pm
Artist: Jon Isherwood
Leila Heller Gallery presents Permanence in Bloom, an exhibition of works by Jon Isherwood. The exhibition is presented alongside Ryan Koopmans and Alice Wexell’s The Wild Within, currently on view at the gallery.
Presented together, the marble sculptures of Jon Isherwood and the photographic and digital works of artist duo Ryan Koopmans and Alice Wexell explore the passage of time and the desire to preserve what is inherently fleeting. Through their different approaches to nature, the artists create a dialogue between permanence and transformation.
Isherwood's Blooms series originated from a public art commission in New York, for which eight floral sculptures were installed along Broadway in 2021. Inspired in part by Édouard Manet's paintings of peonies and memories of bouquets thrown onto the stage at Lincoln Center, the works were conceived as gestures of generosity and renewal. Their installation coincided with the city's emergence from the pandemic, lending particular significance to the flowers' symbolism. Combining traditional stone carving with digital modeling and robotic technology, Isherwood transforms delicate botanical forms into enduring marble sculptures, capturing the softness and movement of petals in solid stone.
Jon Isherwood (b. 1960) is a British-born sculptor known for his innovative approach to stone, combining traditional carving with digital fabrication. A pioneer in the use of CNC technology for stone sculpture, Isherwood begins with intuitive, organic forms that are digitally scanned and translated into stone before being further carved and finished by hand. His sculptures often appear compressed, stretched, or softened, using precisely incised surfaces to challenge the weight and solidity traditionally associated with marble and granite.
Over a career spanning more than three decades, Isherwood has presented more than 25 solo exhibitions and exhibited at institutions including the Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Venice, the McNay Art Museum, deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Beijing. He is the recipient of a Pollock-Krasner Foundation award, a Jerome Foundation Fellowship, and an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh. His numerous public commissions include projects for the U.S. Embassy in Oslo, the City of San Antonio, among others.
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