TIM ISHAM THE VIRGIN SUITE

18TH JUNE - 11TH JULY, 2015

The LODGE is honored to present Tim Isham’s The Virgin Suite opening on the 18th of June 2015.

The show comprises of a suite of 10 color trial lithograph proofs printed in 1978. Other works completed in the same time period will be on display including an oil painting, a pastel on paper and a mixed media sculpture titled The Better Mouse Trap.

Shown together for the first time, The Virgin Suite is a conceptual play on the rules of printmaking. Originally an edition of 18, each print is a unique work hand adjusted by the artist. This series marks a brief stylistic departure from Isham’s usual abstract paintings. Seeing the Victor mousetraps at a hardware shop, Isham recalls being struck by the boldness and graphic quality of the stamped “V” logo. He purchased four mousetraps, lined them up and proceeded to make a series of drawings which led to the final lithographs. Playing with the variances of language, the traps have been labeled with different words including “Victim” and “Virtue”. Responding to the severe blue and red found on the original Victor mousetraps, Isham applied different color combinations and the delicate handling of the crayon results in this charming and humorous body of work.

Tim Isham was born in Texas in 1942 and moved to California in the mid-1950s. Isham attended the University of California, Berkeley and California State University, Long Beach and completed his B.A. and M.A. in Fine Art majoring in drawing and painting. In January 1969, he began working at the renowned print publishers and artists' workshop Gemini G.E.L. in Los Angeles. Isham became immersed in the developing LA art scene and as a master printer, he worked with Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Ellsworth Kelly, Robert Motherwell, Ed Ruscha, Josef Albers, Frank Stella, David Hockney and many others. Isham lives and works in Hollywood, California.