Jarod Isenbarger

Artist and Printmaker from Indiana (b. 1980)

Jarod Isenbarger portrait
photo by Frank Schweikhardt

Bio

Jarod Isenbarger began screen printing in 1997 as a teenager in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Initially drawn to the work of artists such as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein, as well as the immediacy of stenciled street art, he began experimenting with the visual language and reproductive processes that would eventually become central to his practice. What started as a necessity—printing shirts for his own bands, friends' bands, and local businesses—developed into a lasting engagement with printmaking and ultimately led to a BFA in Printmaking from Indiana University in 2008.

Around 2010, Isenbarger founded In Case of Emergency Press, initially operating from a small basement studio. Over the following fifteen years, the studio grew into a full-scale production facility with a strong local and national reputation. During that time, Isenbarger and ICOEP produced nearly one million printed pieces for musicians, businesses, artists, and organizations before the shop closed in 2025.

Isenbarger's broader body of work exists at the intersection of fine art, design, printmaking, and material culture. Alongside traditional works on paper and other fine-art pieces, his portfolio includes album artwork, limited-edition concert and event posters, apparel, merchandise, and a wide range of printed ephemera. This movement between gallery-oriented work and functional or commercial objects has remained a consistent part of his practice.

While screen printing has been the primary medium throughout much of his career, Isenbarger's work is not confined to a single process. His practice has also incorporated lithography, hand drawing, charcoal, acrylic painting, stencil work, and other mixed-media techniques. Across these disciplines, his work reflects an ongoing interest in reproduction, graphic imagery, physical process, and the ways art can exist both as a singular object and as something produced, circulated, handled, worn, and used.

Education

2008-2005 - B.F.A. in Printmaking from Indiana University

2008-2005 - Art History Degree from Indiana University

2005 - Overseas Study in Venice, Italy at Scuola Internationale Di Graphica

2005-1998 - Fine Arts, Pre B.F.A. Preparation at Indiana University Purdue University of Fort Wayne, Indiana

Exhibits

Demonstrations

Gallery

A small sampling of Jarod's work can be viewed below. More pieces to be added to the archive in time.