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Introduction

Jim Isermann

Logic Rules
November 17, 2000 - March 4, 2001

Jim Isermann is known for formally rigorous, optically dynamic work that stands at the forefront of the cross-fertilization of art and design. For this exhibition, Isermann has created wall-to-wall carpeting based on a modular geometric pattern. Almost three hundred identical 36”-square carpet tiles, printed in red and yellow, are centered on a grid. The tiles have been rotated in two directions so that sequences of five different shapes occur diagonally across the floor.

In collaboration with Judith Tannenbaum, RISD’s Curator of Contemporary Art, Isermann selected the objects on the walls and floor from the Museum’s collection. Resonating with his interests in geometric forms and logical systems, these include abstract painting, sculpture, furniture and decorative art, works on paper, and textiles dating from the 1920s to the 1970s, arranged chronologically (clockwise around the room, starting at the northeast wall), except where scale or sensitivity to light made this unreasonable.

By exhibiting nonutilitarian “fine art” together with examples of “applied art,” Logic Rules underscores how art and design are inseparable in everyday life and how the handmade coexists with the mass-produced. Particular artistic styles or movements may go in and out of fashion, but the inherent beauty of repeated patterns and colors will always enliven out environment.

Selected Objects

No Image Available

Donald Judd, designer

Diptych, 1961-1975
No Image Available

Donald Judd

Diptych, 1961-1975

Elsa Gramcko

Arriba No. 27, 1959

Alexander Calder

A Mobile with a Stabile Tail, 1947

Harry Bertoia, designer

Child's Chair (Model 426), 1954

Alvar Aalto, designer

Armchair (model 31), 1931-32

Roberto Matta, designer

Malitte Seating System, 1966

Alexander Calder

Untitled, ca. 1957
No Image Available

Charles Green Shaw

Untitled #6689, ca. 1938-40

Roberto Matta, designer

Malitte Seating System, 1966

Gene Davis

Popsicle, 1969

Alice Trumbull Mason

L'Hasard (Chance), 1948-1949

Frank Stella, designer

Multicolored Squares Portfolio, 1972

Marimekko, design house

Dress, 1966
No Image Available

Charles Green Shaw

Untitled #6690, ca. 1938-40

Ad Reinhardt

No. 18, 1956

Roberto Matta, designer

Malitte Seating System, 1966
No Image Available

Donald Judd, designer

Diptych, 1961-1975

Edgar Negret

The Bridge (Homage to Paul Foster), 1968

Richard Anuszkiewicz, designer

Untitled, 1973

Alexander Calder, designer

Splotchy, 1949
No Image Available

Victor Vasarely, designer

Alom, 1968

Charles Eames, designer

Rocking Chair, ca. 1951

Frank Stella, designer

Multicolored Squares Portfolio, 1972

Frank Stella, designer

Multicolored Squares Portfolio, 1972

Frank Stella, designer

Multicolored Squares Portfolio, 1972

Josef Albers

Study for Homage to the Square, Concentric, 1960

Richard Anuszkiewicz

Primary Hue, 1964

Louise Nevelson

Untitled, ca. 1955-1958

Robert Morris

Composition, 1967

Peter Sedgley

Trace, 1964
No Image Available

Louise Nevelson

Untitled, undated

Marimekko, manufacturer

Dress, ca. 1968

Josef Albers

Study for Homage to the Square, Excentric, 1961

Charles Eames, designer

DCW (Dining Chair Wood), 1948

Marimekko, manufacturer

Melooni, 1963

Marimekko, manufacturer

Dress, 1965

Dansk International Designs Ltd.

Ice Bucket, 1960

Robert Mangold

Distorted Circle within a Polygon II, 1972

Eero Saarinen, designer

Tulip Armchair (model 150), 1955-1956

Hans Arp

Configuration, 1926
No Image Available

Jens Quistgaard, designer

Salad Bowl and Servers, ca. 1960
No Image Available

Jens Quistgaard, designer

Salad Bowl and Servers, ca. 1960
No Image Available

Jens Quistgaard, designer

Salad Bowl and Servers, ca. 1960
No Image Available

Jens Quistgaard, designer

Salad Bowl and Servers, ca. 1960

John Walter Stephan

Disk #1, 1978

Donald Judd

Composition, 1967
No Image Available

George Rickey

Four Squares Diagonal II, 1976

Olle Baertling

Irabamak, 1962
No Image Available

Victor Vasarely, designer

Abstraction, undated
No Image Available

Will Insley

Untitled, 1966

Roberto Matta, designer

Malitte Seating System, 1966

Roberto Matta, designer

Malitte Seating System, 1966

Anni Albers, printmaker

Fox I, 1972

Frank Stella, designer

Multicolored Squares Portfolio, 1972

Frank Stella, designer

Multicolored Squares Portfolio, 1972

Agnes Martin

Untitled, 1960
No Image Available

Anni Albers, printmaker

Fox II, 1972

Marimekko, manufacturer

Dress, ca. 1970
No Image Available

Jasper Johns, designer

Scent, 1975-1976

Agnes Martin

America, 1958-1959
No Image Available

Bridget Riley, designer

Nineteen Greys, 1968
No Image Available

Clement L. Meadmore

Three-Up, 1977

Jésus Rafael Soto

Green and Black Immaterial Curves, 1966

Harry Bertoia, designer

427 P Chair, ca. 1965

Gertrud Natzler

Vase, 1957

Verner Panton, designer

Cone Chair, 1959

Bridget Riley, designer

Untitled (Fragment 7/5), 1965

Carlos Cruz-Diez

Physichromie No. 346, 1967
No Image Available

Jasper Johns, designer

Corpse and Mirror, 1976

Bridget Riley

Study for Deny IV, 1966

Ellsworth Kelly

Pole, 1957

Hans Hofmann

Abstraction (red-yellow contra blue-black), 1954

Victor Vasarely

Planetary Folklore Participations No. 1, 1969

Gertrud Natzler

Bowl, 1965

Roberto Aizenberg

Pintura, 1966-1967

Lucas Samaras

Stiff Box No. 6, 1971

Gertrud Natzler

Bottle, 1968

Jan Schoonhoven

Slant Levels in Four Directions, 1966

Russel Wright, designer

American Modern Iced Tea Glass, 1951

Russel Wright, designer

American Modern Water Glass, 1951

Russel Wright, designer

American Modern Juice Glass, 1951

Russel Wright, designer

American Modern Goblet, 1951

Russel Wright, designer

American Modern Wine Glass, 1951

Russel Wright, designer

American Modern Cocktail Glass, 1951

Russel Wright, designer

Eclipse Zombie Glass, 1957

Russel Wright, designer

Eclipse Double Old Fashioned Glass, 1957

Russel Wright, designer

Eclipse Cordial Glass, 1957

Russel Wright, designer

Eclipse Glass, 1957

Russel Wright, designer

Eclipse Highball Glass, 1957

Russel Wright, designer

Eclipse Old Fashioned Glass, 1957

More objects +

Exhibition Checklist

Jim Isermann : Logic Rules

November 17, 2000 - March 4, 2001
View Checklist PDF

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