Jon Isherwood: Permanence in Bloom
New York, NY – Leila Heller Gallery is delighted to announce Permanence in Bloom, an exhibition of works by Jon Isherwood, opening on October 28, 2026. The exhibition will be presented alongside Ryan Koopmans and Alice Wexell’s The Wild Within, currently on view at the gallery.
Presented together, the marble sculptures of Jon Isherwood and the photographic and digital works of artist duo Ryan Koopmans and Alice Wexell explore the passage of time and the desire to preserve what is inherently fleeting. Through their different approaches to nature, the artists create a dialogue between permanence and transformation.
Isherwood's Blooms series originated from a public art commission in New York, for which eight floral sculptures were installed along Broadway in 2021. Inspired in part by Édouard Manet's paintings of peonies and memories of bouquets thrown onto the stage at Lincoln Center, the works were conceived as gestures of generosity and renewal. Their installation coincided with the city's emergence from the pandemic, lending particular significance to the flowers' symbolism. Combining traditional stone carving with digital modeling and robotic technology, Isherwood transforms delicate botanical forms into enduring marble sculptures, capturing the softness and movement of petals in solid stone.
About Jon Isherwood
Jon Isherwood (b. 1960) is a British-born sculptor known for his innovative approach to stone, combining traditional carving with digital fabrication. A pioneer in the use of CNC technology for stone sculpture, Isherwood begins with intuitive, organic forms that are digitally scanned and translated into stone before being further carved and finished by hand. His sculptures often appear compressed, stretched, or softened, using precisely incised surfaces to challenge the weight and solidity traditionally associated with marble and granite.
Over a career spanning more than three decades, Isherwood has presented more than 25 solo exhibitions and exhibited at institutions including the Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Venice, the McNay Art Museum, deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum, and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Beijing. He is the recipient of a Pollock-Krasner Foundation award, a Jerome Foundation Fellowship, and an Honorary Doctor of Fine Arts from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh. His numerous public commissions include projects for the U.S. Embassy in Oslo, the City of San Antonio, among others.
About Leila Heller Gallery
Since its establishment four decades ago, Leila Heller has gained worldwide recognition as a pioneer in promoting creative dialogue and exchange between Western artists and Middle Eastern, Central and Southeast Asian artists. In 2010, Leila Heller moved from the Upper East Side to its flagship space, Leila Heller Gallery, in Chelsea where it has garnered a reputation for identifying and cultivating the careers of artists leaving a lasting impact on contemporary art and culture.
In March of 2019, Leila Heller made her return to the Upper East Side after eight years. The New York space has since brought its focus back to the secondary market, and has hosted events such as Double Vision, curated by Jane Holzer and featuring works by Andy Warhol, Richard Prince, Jeff Koons, and Keith Haring, amongst others.
In 2015, Leila Heller opened the Leila Heller Gallery in Dubai, its first international location in Dubai’s Alserkal Avenue. At 16,500 square feet and 32-foot ceilings, it is a state-of-the-art gallery that features three exhibition spaces, making it the largest gallery in the Middle East. Showcasing leading regional and international artists, many of whom will be presenting their work in the Middle East for the first time, the gallery is dedicated to supporting the evolving practice of established artists. The gallery has strong innovative curatorial and educational programs with an emphasis on promoting a dialogue between Western and Middle Eastern artists.
In addition to presenting a dynamic exhibition schedule, Leila Heller Gallery actively organizes shows with world-renowned curators, hosts educational panels and film screenings, and produces catalogues and books with scholarly essays. Each year the gallery participates in major international art fairs and stages off-site projects as a platform for exploring new conversations within a wider context of galleries, artists and institutions. Gallery artists have consistently participated in international museum exhibitions and biennials, and are included in leading institutional collections worldwide.