For many millennia, humans, bound to our finite lives and limited earthly resources, have suckled hungrily at the teat of infinity through our love for art– bound to our terminable bodily function, humans only know the infinite through our ownership of the intangible– we possess the infinite through our limitless desire, our infinite capacity for love, our unfettered instinct for creativity. Donna Isham, Los Angeles-based visual artist, explores the distinctly human interplay between the finite and the infinite in her newest installation, Alchemy, at CONTEXT Art Miami. 

On display from December 5th-10th at booth B23 at the fair, Alchemy presents a multilateral study of the way humans view, extract, and utilize finite and infinite resources: Donna Isham’s rich, abstract  oil paintings inspired by ancient Chinese alchemists are paired with projected works by creative technologist and art producer Jeff Grantz, and scored by acclaimed composer, Mark Isham. Together, the three explore the relationship between the inexhaustible, ethereal qualities of human emotion, and wrangle them in through hectic, distinctly physical expressions of artistic effort.

Isham, whose work is widely known for its female-centric, slippery abstractionism, hovers right within the fuzzy boundaries of recognizability. Having worked in fashion and with young luminaries like Giorgio Armani, Drew Barrymore, and Aretha Franklin, Isham’s work is underscored by a deep love for beauty and appreciation of nuance– Alchemy, at CONTEXT Art Miami, promises a renewal of a dedication to both.