Isis

Painting

-

di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art

Photo credit: Johnna Arnold, 2016

Photo credit: Johnna Arnold, 2016

Name/Title

Isis

Entry/Object ID

726

Description

Female torso (caryatid) draped in Egyptian style gown

Artwork Details

Medium

Acrylic and mixed media on masonite

Category

Painting

Acquisition

Accession

AR726

Source or Donor

Anglim/Trimble

Acquisition Method

Purchase

Made/Created

Artist

Jay DeFeo

Date made

1972

Dimensions

Dimension Description

Framed

Height

49 in

Width

25 in

Dimension Description

Object

Height

48 in

Width

24 in

Exhibitions

Exhibition

The Incorrect Museum: Redux

Notes

May 13, 2022 - February 26, 2023, di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art, Napa

Exhibition

The Incorrect Museum: Vignettes from the di Rosa Collection

Notes

April 17, 2021- January 12, 2022, di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art

Exhibition

Be Not Still: Living in Uncertain Times (Part 2)

Notes

June 23 - December 30, 2018, di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art

Exhibition

Based on a True Story: Highlights from the di Rosa Collection

Notes

October 26, 2016 - October 15, 2017, di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art, Napa

Exhibition

The True Artist is an Amazing Luminous Fountain

Notes

April 21 - July 31, 2004, Kreeger Museum, Washington D.C.; September 12, 2004 - May 8, 2005, di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art, Napa June 21 - August 14, 2005, Palm Springs Art Museum October 8 - November 27, 2005, Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History

Research Notes

Research Type

Curator

Date

2016

Notes

Isis (1972) is a pivotal work that marked a major stylistic shift from her use of oil on canvas to acrylic on more rigid, smooth surfaces, such as Masonite and plywood. This transition allowed for a more nuanced approach to painting, emphasizing illusionistic rendering and representation as opposed to the abstract additive nature of her prior paintings. Inspired by an Egyptian statue from the Louvre’s collection, Isis nods to photorealism and coincides with the emergence of photography as an accepted fine art form (and DeFeo’s own experimentation with the medium).