Jon Isherwood masterfully works the unforgiving material, travertine—a marble known for its beautiful reflective quality and soft, subtle color striations. His stone sculptures subvert his process, one that uses modern and sophisticated technology, in favor of rich visual form. His curvilinear, undulating and textured vessels “suggest that the volumes have been filled out as much as possible…with the skin and internal pressures fused to maximum capacity,” the artist says.

In Isherwood’s hands, the stone becomes a pliable and supple material suggesting vessels. The sculptures appear ready to slough off their heavy covering, suggesting impermanence. Their irresistible tactile appeal comes from his meticulously working the stone’s surface: lines, beading, and starbursts or marks all imply a clay heavily worked with wooden tools. When one touches the vessels, however, their intense weight and massive presence becomes clear. The container reads like an ancient artifact.

Born in Britain, Isherwood now lives and works in Hudson, New York. His work has been shown in numerous galleries throughout the United States, and is included in the following collections: Grouonds for Sculpture in Hamilton, New Jersey; the ISC Collection in Washington, D.C.; the Karsl Art Center, New York Universities; and, the Mendel Public Art Gallery in Canada, among others.