Jay Isaac (born 1975) is a Canadian artist based in Rowley, New Brunswick, Canada. He is known primarily for his painting, but he has produced numerous projects within the social sphere. He was founder, editor, publisher, and designer of

Hunter and Cook ''Hunter and Cook'' was a Toronto-based art and culture magazine. It was founded in 2008, and published three times a year until 2011, for 10 issues total. Visual artists Tony Romano and Jay Isaac were the publishers. The magazine included in-dep ...

magazine (2009-2011). He founded and ran the @nationalgalleryofcanada Instagram account (2014-2016). He founded and co-runs Peter Estey Fine Art, an auction house dedicated to presenting idiosyncratic historical Canadian art (2018–present). Isaac is represented by Paul Petro Contemporary Art in Toronto.

Early life and education

Isaac was born in Saint John, New Brunswick and is of Lebanese descent. He attended

Cardiff School of Art and Design Cardiff School of Art & Design (CSAD) is one of the five schools that comprise Cardiff Metropolitan University. It originated as the Cardiff School of Art in 1865. History Cardiff School of Art & Design opened in 1865 as the Cardiff School of S ...

in Wales in 1996 and graduated from the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design in 1997.

Career

In 2020 Isaac was awarded a Chalmers Fellowship through the Ontario Arts Council to research historic mural production in former Soviet Ukraine and Georgia and New Deal era murals from the United States. This research developed into a series of large scale paintings titled Mural Studies, which were exhibited at Paul Petro Contemporary Art, Toronto in 2021. In 2018 the Toronto publisher Swimmers Group published "Like a Baby I Was Born Again", a book of Isaac’s drawings. The drawings were surreal, social and political commentary cartoons. Two of the drawings were exhibited at The Brucke Museum in Berlin. His series "Second Eye", which was exhibited at Monte Clark Gallery, Toronto in 2012, was fabricated using a combination of unsold furniture items from a small antique shop he ran in Toronto and unresolved works in his studio. The amalgamation of the two “failed” components produced idiosyncratic sculptural works that writer Ben Portis described as “the nerviest gallery encounter of the year”. Between 2005-2010 Isaac collaborated with musician Lorenz Peter to create Bay of Creatures, an experimental music project. A compilation was released by Toronto label Paper+Sound in 2017.

Selected exhibits

Group

* Season Gallery, Seattle, WA, 2020 * Brucke Museum, Berlin, 2019 * McIntosh Gallery, London ON, 2019 * Beaverbrook Art Gallery, 2014 * Contemporary Art Gallery (Vancouver), 2010 * Art Gallery of Ontario, 2009 * Agnes Etherington Art Centre, 2007 * Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, 2006 *

The Power Plant The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery is a Canadian non-collecting public contemporary art gallery located at the heart of Toronto, Ontario at the Harbourfront Centre. It is a registered Canadian charitable organization supported by its membe ...

, 2004 *

White Columns White Columns is New York City’s oldest alternative non-profit art space. White Columns is known as a showcase for up-and-coming artists, and is primarily devoted to emerging artists who are not affiliated with galleries. All work submitted is ...

, 2004 * Bologna Gallery of Modern Art, 2002

Solo

* "Mural Studies", Paul Petro Contemporary Art, Toronto, 2021 * "Midnight Repairs", Paul Petro Contemporary Art, Toronto, 2019 * "High Gloss Ceilings", Cooper Cole, Toronto, 2017 * Monte Clark Gallery, 2012 and 2014 * Paul Petro Contemporary Art, 2010 * CUE art foundation, 2005 * Mercer Union, 2002

Collections

* Agnes Etherington Art Centre, Kingston, Ontario * Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Alberta *

Macdonald Stewart Art Centre The Art Gallery of Guelph (AGG), formerly the Macdonald Stewart Art Centre, is a public gallery and adjoining sculpture park in Guelph, Ontario. The AGG has a collection of over 9,000 works and focusses on research, publishing, educational progra ...

, Guelph, Ontario * Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt, Toronto * The Robert McLaughlin Gallery, Oshawa, Ontario *Tom Thomson Art Gallery, Owen Sound, Ontario * Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg Manotiba *

Museum London Museum London is an art and history museum located in London, Ontario, Canada. It is located near the forks of the Thames River. It started its operations in 1940 with London Public Library and amalgamated with London Regional Art Gallery and Lon ...

, London, ON *

Ivey School of Business Ivey Business School is a constituent unit of the University of Western Ontario, located in London, Ontario, Canada. Ivey offers full-time undergraduate (HBA), MBA, MSc, MFE and PhD programs and also maintains two teaching facilities in Toronto ...

, London, ON * Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton, NB

Selected publications

*''Off the Grid, Abstract Painting in New Brunswick'', 2014, Beaverbrook Art Gallery * ''Fantasy Art Now'', 2014, ed. Jay Isaac & Sebastian Frye, Swimmer's Group, * ''60 Painters'', 2012 * ''Triumphant Carrot: The Persistence of Still Life'', 2010, Contemporary Art Gallery, Vancouver * ''

'', 2008-2011, periodical, issues #01-10, Jay Isaac and Tony Romano * ''Carte Blanche, Vol. 2: Painting'', 2008, Magenta Foundation * ''Jay Isaac'', 2005, Cue Foundation, NY * ''Officina America'', 2002, Museum of Modern Art, Bologna, Italy * ''Selling Out and Buying In'', 2002, BizArt, Shanghai

Selected works

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References

External links

Jay Isaac Web

Paul Petro Comptempary Art

Peter Estey Fine Art

Bay of Creatures
{{DEFAULTSORT:Isaac, Jay 1975 births Living people Artists from Saint John, New Brunswick Canadian contemporary painters Canadian male painters Canadian performance artists 21st-century Canadian painters 20th-century Canadian painters 20th-century Canadian male artists 21st-century Canadian male artists Canadian people of Lebanese descent