About the work

It is difficult to describe any of Sheila Isham’s works without beginning at the very beginning, by which the viewer of Isham’s works may be forgiven for hearkening back to וַיֹּאמֶר אֱלֹהִים, תּוֹצֵא הָאָרֶץ נֶפֶשׁ חַיָּה לְמִינָהּ, בְּהֵמָה וָרֶמֶשׂ וְחַיְתוֹ-אֶרֶץ, לְמִינָהּ; וַיְהִי-כֵן. (And God said: ‘Let the earth bring forth the living creature after its kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after its kind.’ And it was so.) Isham’s work was about creation, power, mythology. Through a series of themes, Isham explored these themes, perhaps reaching its culmination in her “Cosmic Myth” series, the creatures of which the art historian Alexander Borovsky described as “manifesting an energy for the reproduction of life, an energy which is neither clouded nor dramatized by fears from within and doubts from without.” He says much more, but spend some time with the work and you will perceive his message even without his words.

Mythic Play Beast XXV does not fit precisely into any of Isham’s series but straddles many of them, clearly evoking the “Cosmic Earth: Bulls” series and the “Cosmic Myth” series. (Perhaps that is why she apparently began the numbering of these works with XX.)

This work has been custom framed in a solid Maple frame behind 99% UV-blocking art glass (carefully held a half-inch over the work to avoid damage), using strictly conservation-grade techniques. Note, however, that the work has been left on its prior support despite some soiling to avoid damage.