ART REVIEW : Weavings That Weave a Magical Spell

Jim Isermann’s quietly dazzling weavings at Richard Telles Fine Art rank among the best works this multitalented artist has made over his impressively diverse career. Beautifully crafted and intelligently conceived, these handmade works are as humble as dishrags, yet they do the job of the most high-minded abstract art.

Isermann’s approximately four-foot-square plaids, stripes and zig-zags hang casually against the wall, like relaxed, off-duty paintings. A pleasure to see, they also beg you to reach out and touch their sensuous fabric--to flip over a corner and compare the pattern on the back to the one on the front. Hands-on and intimate, Isermann’s works reject the idea that art is meant to be detached from life.

Nevertheless, it would be a mistake to assume that Isermann isn’t interested in aesthetics. After all, his woven wall-works don’t tempt you to use them as anything but abstract paintings: as decorative objects designed to stimulate and satisfy your eyes. Utility and decoration dovetail in these seamless fusions of Saturday crafts and high-brow abstraction.

More than Isermann’s earlier paintings made from shag carpeting, stained glass and stitched quilts, these new weavings show off his skills as a colorist. Ever so slightly tweaked, their palette gives them a jazzy, off-balance energy. Some of the brightly dyed strands of cotton shimmer, enlivening the surfaces with a hint of reflected light that shifts with the day’s changing conditions.

Isermann’s delightful works recycle geometric abstraction, transforming an outdated style of art and design into user-friendly pieces with quirky personalities. They reveal that beauty is useful and that art is practical, even if it’s just hanging on the wall.

* Richard Telles Fine Art, 7380 Beverly Blvd., (213) 965-5578, through Oct. 7. Closed Sundays and Mondays.