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Jim Isermann

American artist (born 1955)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMar 14, 2026
Entity authorityQ43131898
Source-derived summary

Jim Isermann (born 1955, Kenosha, Wisconsin) is an American artist. He is based in Palm Springs and Guerneville, California. In 1977 he graduated from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and then received an MFA from CalArts in 1980. His artwork has focused on post-war industrial design and architecture. He has participated in numerous exhibitions in art galleries and museum, and has also created large scale commissioned projects utilizing industrial manufacturing processes. His work has been presented in solo exhibitions at Richard Telles, Los Angeles (2017, 2014, 2009, 2000, 1998, 1994), Praz-Delavallade, Paris (2010), Corvi-Mora, London (2011), Mary Boone Gallery, New York (2011 & 2012) and others. Recent commissioned projects include works for the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, CA, Yale University Art Museum in New Haven, CT, University of California, Riverside, Los Angeles Metro, and an installation for the Cowboys Stadium in Dallas, TX.

Life and career

Isermann grew up in a 1922 Prairie Home in Wisconsin, and moved to Los Angeles, California to attend graduate school at Calarts. In 1997, with David Blomster, Isermann purchased a prefabricated steel and glass houses in Palm Springs that had been designed by Donald Wexler, and after refurbishing the building, eventually moved from Los Angeles to the property full time in 2000.

Education and Teaching

In 1977 he graduated from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and then received an MFA from CalArts in 1980.

Isermann is a professor of Art at UC Riverside where he has taught since 2006, and has also taught at Occidental College, Otis College of Art and Design, and UCLA.

Work and themes

Furniture Tableaus

In 1982 Jim Isermann created Motel Modern, an exhibition in a room at the Inn of Tomorrow, a hotel across the street from Disneyland.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “Jim Isermann” as american artist (born 1955). This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Isermann, American and artist.

Editorial reviewStrongest as a route into the people, institutions and dated events that shaped the subject’s public record. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1955, 1977, 1980, 2017—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1955-01-01. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with Isermann, American and artist providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Jim Isermann”, the useful work is to connect “american artist (born 1955)” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 14, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q43131898. VIAF identifies the subject as 40240402. The Library of Congress control number is nr96015080. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1955, 1977, 1980 and 2017.

Critical limits

A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

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  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
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Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Jim Isermann”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Jim Isermann primary sources, Jim Isermann archive and Isermann research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Jim Isermann” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.