Artist Ron Isaacs’ exhibit, elaborate relief constructions of Finnish birch plywood painted in acrylics, is one of the most evocative collection of works one will ever see.

The art was created using an artistic technique called “trompe l’oeil” (French for “deceive the eye”). The result is work that is an extreme optical illusion, making highly realistic 2-D paintings or drawings appear as true 3-D spaces or objects.

Isaacs’ work will be on display in an exhibit called “Human/Nature” at Gravers Lane Gallery through July 11. The artist’s creations may just trick the viewer into believing the painted subject is physically there, such as a painted fly you want to brush away or an open window on a solid wall.

”In 1970, I was doing figurative painting when I happened to see the work of Roy Schnackenberg (1934-2018, a celebrated painter and sculptor from Chicago),” Isaacs told the Local last week. “He sought out painted images on wood and three-dimensional imagery. I liked the idea and tried it myself. I realized why do I need canvas? Then I went off in my own direction.”

Isaacs has described his works as “visual poems,” gently illustrative, suggestively metaphoric and wonderfully mysterious. (In addition to the Gravers Lane Gallery exhibit, there is another current exhibit of Isaacs’ work at the Marinaro Gallery on the Lower East Side in New York City.)

Gravers Lane Gallery artistic director Bruce Hoffman’s history with Isaac’s work dates back to the mid-1980s at the Snyderman-Works Galleries (in Center City), where Hoffman began his career in 1986. “Ron and his wife, Judy, were customers and would pass through Philadelphia once a year while visiting Judy’s sister,” Hoffman said.

“During one visit, Judy pulled out Ron’s portfolio, leaving us speechless and resulting in a long-standing partnership that spanned over two decades and included numerous exhibitions and art fairs, including SOFA Chicago and SOFA New York,” Hoffman continued. “Since coming to Gravers Lane Gallery in 2012, I knew I wanted to eventually bring Ron’s remarkable work to Chestnut Hill.”

Now 84, Isaacs has had a career of more than 50 years. He was trained as painter, earning an MFA in 1963 from the University of Indiana. He taught painting and drawing for 36 years at the college level and is currently an emeritus professor at Eastern Kentucky University. His works are held in numerous public and private collections around the U.S.

Reflecting on his career, Isaacs cited another 1970s turning point. In 1972, Isaacs saw “Objects USA,” an exhibit that traveled all over the country. It consisted of contemporary crafts overflowing with stitchery, fabric and fibers, for example, a real coat with plastic flowers.

“So I took my own raincoat,” Isaacs explained, “and worked with it using trompe l’oeil. At first the work was clumsy and clunky, but I tried more clothing. It became my primary image. I added more surrealism. Eventually the figures went away, and I just had garments.

“I combine clothing with found objects and plant materials. I get as much done as I can while the plant materials like leaves and sticks are fresh. I’m used to them deteriorating, like leaves in the fall, for example. I do a dozen pieces a year.”

The trick is to combine painting with a 3-dimensional surface out of many pieces of plywood with no cheap filler. Isaacs uses Finnish plywood because it is much better than domestic plywood. There is also a lot of sanding involved.

”My three primary recurring subjects are vintage clothing for the way it continues the life of the past into the present, plant materials in the form of sticks, leaves and flowers (for too many reasons to list) and found objects,” Isaacs said. “They combine in appropriate or surprising juxtapositions, sometimes purely as a visual ‘poem’ of sorts and (if I’m lucky) sometimes as an image with real psychological resonance.

Isaacs said his work evolves slowly “mostly as a matter of increased and prolonged stages of refinement and perhaps of concept. The passage of time continues as an undercurrent to the work. At my age, I have slowed down somewhat, but I plan to keep working as hard as I can for an long as I can.

“I have to consider things like what constitutes a life-time supply of plywood and paint,” he added, “and that I have to make proverbial hay while the proverbial sun shines.”

Gravers Lane Gallery is located at 8405 Germantown Ave. For more information, visit graverslanegallery.com. Len Lear can be reached at lenlear@chestnuthilllocal.com.