Jay Isaac (born 1975) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

artist based in Rowley,

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

, 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 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,

and is of Lebanese descent. He attended Cardiff School of Art and Design in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

in 1996 and graduated from the

Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design The Emily Carr University of Art and Design (stylized as Emily Carr University of Art + Design and abbreviated as ECU) is a public university of art school, art and design located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Founded in 1925 as the Van ...

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 The Beaverbrook Art Gallery () commonly referred to simply as The Beaverbrook, is a public art gallery in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. It is named after William Maxwell "Max" Aitken, Lord Beaverbrook, who funded the building of the gallery ...

, 2014 *

Contemporary Art Gallery (Vancouver) The Contemporary Art Gallery (CAG) is a non-profit public contemporary art gallery in downtown Vancouver. The CAG exhibits local, national, and international artists, primarily featuring emerging local artists producing Canadian contemporary art ...

, 2010 *

Art Gallery of Ontario The Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO; ) is an art museum in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Located on Dundas Street, Dundas Street West in the Grange Park (neighbourhood), Grange Park neighbourhood of downtown Toronto, the museum complex takes up of phys ...

, 2009 *

Agnes Etherington Art Centre The Agnes Etherington Art Centre is located in Kingston, Ontario, on the campus of Queen's University. The gallery has received a number of awards for its exhibitions from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Ontario Association of Art Galleries ...

, 2007 *

Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art The Museum of Contemporary Art Toronto Canada (MOCA), formerly known as the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA), is a museum and art gallery in Toronto, Ontario. It is an independent, registered charitable organization. ...

, 2006 *

The Power Plant The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery is a Canadian public art gallery located at Harbourfront Centre in the heart of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Gallery is a registered Canadian charitable organization. Initially established in 1976 as ...

, 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 i ...

, 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 Mercer Union is a Canadian artist-run centre in Toronto, Ontario, established in 1979 to exhibit contemporary art. History Mercer Union was founded in 1979 by artists Michael Balfe, Peter Blendell, Ric Evans, Peter Hill, Jamie Lyons, David MacW ...

, 2002

Collections

, Kingston, Ontario *

Glenbow Museum The Glenbow Museum is an art and history local museum, regional museum in the city of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The museum focuses on Western Canada, Western Canadian history and culture, including Indigenous perspectives. The Glenbow was establ ...

, 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 garden in Guelph, Ontario. Its collection consists of over 9,000 works. The AGG is a nonprofit organization which focuses on r ...

, Guelph, Ontario *

Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP is a Canadian-based law firm founded in 1862. Osler is considered one of the Seven Sisters (law firms), a historical collection of seven law firms with offices in Toronto, Ontario. History The firm was founded in ...

, Toronto *

The Robert McLaughlin Gallery The Robert McLaughlin Gallery is a public art gallery in Oshawa, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest public art gallery in the Regional Municipality of Durham, of which Oshawa is a part. The gallery houses a significant collection of Canadian conte ...

, Oshawa, Ontario *Tom Thomson Art Gallery, Owen Sound, Ontario *

Winnipeg Art Gallery The Winnipeg Art Gallery (WAG) is an art museum in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Its permanent collection includes over 24,000 works from Canadian, Indigenous Canadian, and international artists. The museum also holds the world's largest collect ...

, 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 the main business school of Western University, located in London, Ontario, Canada. It offers full-time undergraduate and graduate programs in London, Ontario and maintains a Toronto facility for its EMBA program and two ...

, London, ON *

, 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 * '' Hunter and Cook'', 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