Issy Wood's Perverse Realism Explored in Antwerp Exhibition and Artforum Review

Issy Wood, a 1993-born American painter and musician based in London, is gaining attention for her unsettling figurative works that blend realism and surrealism. Her paintings were featured in the group exhibition "Masquerade, Make-up, & Ensor" in Antwerp, which examined connections between fashion, makeup, and masks. In an Artforum review, Barry Schwabsky compared Wood's work to René Magritte, Ivan Albright, and Michaël Borremans, noting her positioning between realism and surrealism. Wood is represented in the US by Michael Werner Gallery. In her 2022 exhibition "Issy Wood: Time Sensitive," curator and critic Margaret Kross stated that Wood rejects the idea of an autonomous inner world, emphasizing vulnerability and social conditioning. Wood's imagery includes banal and sinister elements, reflecting transformed identity structures and a pervasive uncanny effect. She was discovered through her Instagram profile.