Contemporary Talks: Jamie Isenstein

Contemporary Talks is a series that connects Atlanta audiences with some of the most consequential thinkers and doers in the world of art and culture. The speakers share thoughts about their past and present projects – what informs and motivates them, what challenges they face, and why it matters. About Jamie Isenstein: Jamie Isenstein was born in 1975 in Portland, Oregon, and lives in New York. She earned her BA from Reed College in Portland in 1998 and her MFA from Columbia University in 2004. Isenstein often absorbs the persona of inanimate objects (uncomfortably for hours at a time) sitting—or standing or crouching—at the mercy of her art. Isenstein is known for blurring the lines between performance and sculpture, often through her use of her own body as a ready-made object. Isenstein reflects on the concept of art living beyond its creator and the role of the artist within a work of art, utilizing the vocabulary of comedy and magic to speak to such larger issues. She incorporates her body into objects for long durations often rely on her presence but then offer an equally compelling solution for when she is absent. In doing so, Isenstein’s performances never truly end but instead go into extended intermissions. Isenstein’s performances, installations, drawings, and sculptures have been the subject of solo exhibitions at Reed College, Portland, OR (2013); Andrew Kreps Gallery, New York (2010 and 2007); Hammer Projects at the Hammer Museum (2007); Meyer Riegger Galerie, Karlsruhe and Berlin, Germany (2006); and Guild and Greyshkul, New York (2004). Group exhibitions include those at Palais de Tokyo, Paris; Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston; Liverpool Biennial, P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center, Long Island City, New York; CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts, San Francisco; and Museum Moderner Kunst, Stiftung Ludwig, Vienna. Reviews of Isenstein’s work have appeared in such publications as the New York Times, Contemporary, Art in America, and Modern Painters. Isenstein is currently preparing work for her third solo exhibition at Andrew Kreps Gallery, in New York City for the spring of 2015. Her Contemporary Talks lecture aligns with the exhibition opening for Pratfall Tramps of which Isenstein is a participating artist [February 6-April 11, 2015, curated by Rachel Reese for Atlanta Contemporary Art Center]. Free and Open to the Public. Contemporary Talks is sponsored by Possible Futures.