Isham Adams (b. 1982 – Palatka, FL) is a Minneapolis-based contemporary artist whose current body of work, Strange Mercy, centers on the self-portrait and serves as a tactile record of a body and life in transition. Adams engages the self-portrait as a vessel to navigate the internal complexities and physical realities of a Grade II Astrocytoma IDH Mutant brain cancer diagnosis.

In Strange Mercy, their technique is defined by a deliberate tension between precision and surrender. They prioritize a bold, economical style, seeking to capture likeness and realism through suggestive, light-filled marks rather than literal photorealism. Beginning in early November 2025, the project represents a commitment to a daily practice, with most works being completed alla prima in single sessions ranging from mere minutes to many hours. 

Adams’ earlier works (2007-2013) featured boldly colored abstract expressionist meditations on modernity exploring themes such as capitalist intrusion into nature, religious iconography, and the impact of technology on our internal lives. These pieces featured a wide variety of techniques and approaches; saturated colors and geometric forms interacting with muted realistic cloudy skies; nail and wire forms pierced directly into wooden panels, superimposed over the painting below; gestural madonnas enveloped by splashes of paint and formless voids.  

In 2013 Adams ceased painting, but continued artistic pursuits in music, video production and graphic design.

In April of 2025 they were diagnosed with Grade II Astrocytoma IDH Mutant brain cancer and underwent a craniotomy to remove part of the tumor in the right frontal cortex. While in recovery Adams began documenting his journey with an Instagram account (@waitertheresatumorinmysoup) using primarily self-portraits taken on a cell phone to provide context and insight to friends and family following their recovery. After 33 days in the hospital and in-patient physical therapy, Adams returned home and continued his recovery. The craniotomy left them with limited mobility, left-side hemiparesis, that initially impacted his left-hand/arm and continues to impact his ability to walk without the aid of a foot/leg brace on the left leg and a cane. Adams’ recovery continues as he follows a daily chemotherapy regimen and regular MRIs to monitor growth of their tumor. 

With no prior oil painting experience, and very limited figural work in his oeuvre, Adams decided to pursue self-portraiture in oil paint as a way to explore the vast emotional landscape of a cancer diagnosis and the impactful life changes that come with disability. Adams explores this internal terrain through historically established and experimental use of color, often utilizing a limited palette to capture the cool, clinical tones of their medical journey and the shimmering, luminous warmth of life, the dark and subdued moments of reflection and the vibrant dazzling colors of a life embraced. 

The passage of time is a central, albeit quiet, collaborator in Adams’ work. Their process oscillates between the urgency of alla prima sessions—completed in a single, high-intensity sitting—and longitudinal pieces made in countless hours over periods of months. While alla prima pieces engage the necessity of creation demanded by newly limited life expectancy, larger works, and the expanded drying time of the oil paint, mirror the forced pauses of a medical journey. These intervals provide a necessary space for reflection, allowing the artist to process their imminent mortality before returning to the canvas.

Ultimately, Adams intends for these portraits to function as a bridge. While the work documents personal pain and danger, it is designed to evoke a shared empathy and softness. Adams hopes that by dismantling their own vanity, and laying bare the ever vacillating emotions encountered in facing the unknown, on the canvas, viewers can find a space to reflect on their own experiences of sorrow, hope, and the profound resilience of the human spirit.