The Alchemy Immersive Collection

 

The Immersive Collection is a groundbreaking series of multi-sensory art installations by contemporary artist Donna Isham, with original soundscapes composed by her husband, award-winning musician Mark Isham. By merging Donna’s expressive paintings with cutting-edge 3D animation and projection mapping, these installations explore themes of identity, connection, and the blurred boundaries between illusion and reality. The result is an experiential journey that unites sight and sound, transcending traditional artistic forms to create transformative environments that engage and inspire.

Donna Isham and Mark aimed to blend the past, present, and future in their collaboration. Donna, with her background in fine art, traditionally used oil and pigment to create vivid canvases. However, as technology evolved, she sought to integrate digital projection and sound while preserving the organic, humanistic qualities of handcrafted works. Similarly, Mark, with his roots in musical history, bridges traditional musicality with analog synthesizers. Their collaboration unites these elements, forging a link to a new and evocative art form.

Le Cirque 2024

Le Cirque (2024) is an immersive fusion of dynamic artistry, 3D animation, projection mapping, and an original musical score. Spanning 60 by 140 inches, it harnesses the circus as a metaphor for life’s inherent unpredictability—beauty and grit, thrill and danger—revealing the delicate balance between control and chaos. In vivid, discordant hues, Donna Isham merges figuration and abstraction, layering angular black lines, abstract shapes, and circular motifs to explore identity, deconstruction, and the fluid nature of self-discovery.

Mark Isham’s evocative score deepens the emotional resonance, blending acoustic pianos, bass, flutes, and a mix of vintage and modern synthesizers. This rich soundscape envelops viewers in a transformative journey where tension and beauty coexist, mirroring the unpredictable rhythms of human experience. Le Cirque ultimately invites audiences to embrace the perpetual dance between order and chaos—a reflection of life’s continual balancing act.

Glass Between Us 2024

Glass Between Us (2024) measuring 84 inches by 64 inches, embraces the distance that people create knowingly and unknowingly in finding human connection, love, and admiration. Echoing that spirit, this piece mirrors the human journey: a nuanced dance of control and chaos, vulnerability and strength.

Glass Between Us delves into these themes of connection and disconnection, using bold compositions and light and sound to explore the tensions between individuals. Initially begun in Aspen at Anderson Ranch Art Center, Donna created layers of color and line work amidst the female form, obscuring and revealing each along the way. She further emphasized the sense of distance and belonging with bold lines dissecting the composition and masses of large color areas. But it is her use of fine mark making that really draws you into the work. Similarly, Mark scored the painting to evoke that sense of longing by coupling ambient synthesizers with melodic instruments creating a sense of harmony and rhythm between the different elements. This was then animated to further enhance thefluidity of life and relationships. The colors are mesmerizing and intoxicating.

Rooted In Heaven 2023

Rooted In Heaven (2023) is a striking black-and-white acrylic painting on a 60 by 48 inch canvas. This monochromatic piece explores the ethereal connection between the earthly and the divine, emphasizing themes of grounding and transcendence. Through the interplay of light and shadow, Isham creates a dynamic sense of movement, evoking a serene yet powerful presence. The absence of color draws focus to the intricate contrasts, textures, and forms, inviting viewers to reflect on the interplay of permanence and spirituality. A testament to Isham’s mastery of abstraction, the work leaves space for interpretation while radiating an undeniable emotional resonance. It is accompanied by a soundscape by Mark Isham that emphasizes the emotional journey of its transcendent connections. The animation is equally sparse and it emanates in pulses in the painting.

Alchemy 2023

Alchemy (2023) is an immersive art installation by Donna Isham in collaboration with musician Mark Isham, spanning 68 by 118 inches. Rooted in the transformative mystique of ancient Chinese alchemy, this multi-sensory work combines acrylic, ink, graphite, oil, and crayon on canvas to create a visually arresting experience. Vivid reds, luminous golds, shimmering silvers, and deep cosmic blues converge to evoke magic, transformation, and humanity’s eternal quest for enlightenment. By harnessing both paint and sound, the piece offers a reflective journey that invites viewers to contemplate beauty, wonder, and spiritual evolution.

Drawing upon the alchemical dream of transmuting base materials into gold, Isham integrates symbolic hues and layered textures that echo the aspirations of ancient practitioners. Bold applications of cinnabar, gold, mercury silver, and sulfur establish a timeless aura, while the work’s layered surfaces suggest hidden realms of possibility and dreams. This striking composition immerses audiences in a realm where the pursuit of transformation unfolds before their eyes, positioning Alchemy as both a testament to artistic innovation and a catalyst for deeper exploration of the human spirit.

Alchemy combines traditional art with digital and sonic elements to enhance the viewer’s experience. Through innovative 3D projections and interactive simulations, the painted strokes are brought to life, creating dynamic visual rhythms. Mark Isham’s accompanying soundscape weaves a musical narrative that complements the visuals, enriching the installation with layers of emotion and depth. Together, these elements create a seamless journey of creation and transformation, capturing the essence of alchemy itself.

Carousel 2023

Carousel (2023) is a vibrant and evocative work by Donna Isham, created in collaboration with musician Mark Isham. Measuring 61 by 71 1/2 inches, the piece reflects childhood memories of park visits and carousel rides. The dynamic color palette of creamy yellows, muted blues, crimson, and pinks captures the carefree, spinning motion of these rides, evoking the ecstatic thrill children experience. By combining acrylic, graphite, oil stick, and ink, Isham creates a textured, multi-layered surface that invites viewers to immerse themselves in her nostalgic recollections and the universal joy of carousel experiences.

Isham likens life to a carousel, a continuous motion of highs and lows—victories and losses. This concept, inspired by her own childhood and later revisited through the eyes of her children, anchors the emotional foundation of the work. The painting reflects this cyclical nature, with each spin symbolizing the dynamic flow of life, where memories and emotions constantly evolve and shift.

In Carousel, Isham layers colors over graphite sketches of loved ones, abstracting each figure to emphasize the depth of the emotional connection. The painting mirrors life’s journey, where experiences, relationships, and perceptions are constantly reshaped by movement and light. It celebrates the beauty of life’s rhythm—its playfulness, challenges, and capacity for creation—capturing the essence of what makes living meaningful.

We’re All Watching 2022

We Are All Watching (2022) is Donna Isham’s large-scale art installation created in collaboration with composer Mark Isham. Spanning 72 by 127 inches, it combines acrylic, graphite, oil stick, paper, and ink on canvas with electronics, video projections, and immersive soundscapes to examine themes of surveillance, privacy, and voyeurism. Field recordings from cities like Paris, New York, and Aspen intermingle with Isham’s original compositions, creating a layered sonic backdrop. Projected film burns and scratches add texture and depth, symbolizing the fragility of human life in a mechanized culture and inviting viewers to contemplate the intersection of observation and reality.

Isham’s distinctive figurative style appears in vibrant, textured paintings and painted mannequins, where bold color and sinuous lines evoke the tension between individuality and societal demands. Eyes serve as windows to the soul, with each female subject embodying spiritual and physical healing. Through these works, Isham celebrates feminine energy and urges a reimagining of a world where personal identity is cherished. Her immersive approach—gestural brushstrokes paired with an ambient, mechanical-infused soundscape—proposes a transformative experience, compelling audiences to reflect on both the fragility and resilience of humanity in a digitally driven world.

In The Darkness I Could Hear Your Voice 2021

In The Darkness I Could Hear Your Voice (2021) is a pioneering collaboration between abstract painter Donna Isham and Grammy Award–winning, Academy Award–nominated composer Mark Isham, marking their first venture into an immersive art installation. Drawing on their shared passion for kinetic installation art and the convergence of fine art and sound, this piece merges Donna’s abstract expressionism with Mark’s ambient electronic compositions, creating an evolving sensory environment that blurs the line between still imagery and moving pictures. Audiences are invited to experience fluid time—where moments stand still or accelerate—depending on each viewer’s perspective.

Anchored by Donna’s layered oil, acrylic, and R&F oil stick paintings, the installation gains depth through Mark’s use of vintage synthesizers like the ARP 2600, Mog modular, and Prophet 5, among others. The resulting ambient soundscapes cultivate a charged atmosphere in which color, texture, and sonic resonance unfold in real time. Isham’s motif of continuous motion reveals “the whispered narratives that exist in the darkness,” inviting observers to witness shapes and lines deteriorate and regenerate—a dynamic process Donna refers to as “Samsara.” Through this interplay of art and music, the work fosters a profound sense of wonder, inspiring viewers to explore the boundless possibilities of transformation.