Isabella Ducrot
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Biography
Born 1931 in Naples, Italy
Lives and works in Rome, Italy
Isabella Ducrot is known for her devoted use of woven cloth as the founding material of her paintings. Only beginning her artistic career later in life, the Italian artist has assembled a sublime collection of antique textiles through her extensive travels through Asia, originating primarily from Turkey, India, China, Tibet and Afghanistan.
Ducrot’s first source of inspiration comes from the so-called weft of these fabrics. By bringing them to light and stretching them ever-so lightly, whether linen, silk, wool or other, the weft becomes visible, revealing the original architecture of the material, composed of crossing threads and voids. Ducrot has specifically made the checkered cloth her signature material, believing strongly in its expressive force, seeing it as an independent formal element and end unto itself. The extreme nudity of the checkered pattern offers the artist endless possibilities for artistic intervention.
Isabella Ducrot's solo exhibition Profusione is currently on view at Le Consortium Museum in Dijon, running until September 2024. Ducrot also created a monumental scenography for Dior's spring 2024 haute couture show. Her large-scale installation Omaggio a Mishima (Homage to Mishima) was part of Art Basel's Unlimited sector in 2022. Among Isabella Ducrot's solo exhibitions are Sadie Coles HQ, London; Standard, Oslo; Belenius Stockholm; San Giuseppe alle Scalze a Pontecorvo, Napoli; Galerie Gisela Capitain, Cologne; T293, Rome; Galerie Mezzanin, Geneva; Capitain Petzel, Berlin; Spazio Parlato, Palermo and Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli, Naples. In 2014, Ducrot held a significant exhibition at the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea in Rome. Additionally, she participated in the Venice Biennale in 1993 and 2011.
Ducrot is also the author of numerous publications including Women’s Life (2021); La stoffa a quadri (also translated and published in English as The Checkered Cloth) (2019); Suonno. Il sonno e il sogno nella canzone napoletana (2012); Fallaste Corazón (2012); Pensiero religioso ed elettricità (2011); La Matassa Primordale (2008); and Bianca di Pelle (1995). Her work is held in the permanent collection of the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Rome.
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I remember the first time I saw the ceremonial garments of the sultans of the Ottoman Empire on display in the Topkapi Palace museum in Istanbul; I was deeply struck by their size, they were out of proportion and revealed the sovereign indifference of the court tailors: they had taken no account of the normal anatomy of the human being.
– Isabella Ducrot
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Ducrot's depictions of flowers and ceramic vessels symbolize her idea of happiness: "Happiness for me is being seated around a table with one friend, with more friends, with family... cups of tea, teapots, pots. I love Japan for its cult of pots." A convergence of everyday reality, inner life, and broader cultural references has been a defining feature of her work from the outset.
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Works
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Isabella DucrotOrange Bad Flowers, 2024Pigments, China ink, collages on paperSigned, dated and titled rectoPaper dimensions:
65.5 x 48 cm / 25.8 x 18.9 inches
Framed dimensions:
81.6 x 63.8 cm / 32.1 x 25.1 inches -
Isabella DucrotTendernesses I, 2024Pastel, pigments, pencil, silver and collage on paperSigned and dated recto166 x 98 cm
65.4 x 38.6 inches -
Isabella DucrotTendernesses II, 2024Pastel, pigments, pencil and collage on paperSigned and dated recto156 x 98 cm
61.4 x 38.6 inches -
Isabella DucrotGrande vaso su tavola a quadri, 2021Pastel, pigments and collage on paper, framedSigned and dated rectoPaper dimensions:
139 x 76 cm / 54.7 x 29.9 inches
Framed dimensions:
153 x 89 cm / 60.2 x 35 inches -
Isabella DucrotTurquoise Pots, 2024Pigments, pastel, China ink, collages on paperSigned and dated rectoPaper dimensions:
53 x 82 cm / 20.9 x 32.3 inches
Framed dimensions:
69.3 x 97.8 cm / 27. 3 x 38.5 inches
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Isabella DucrotYellow Flowers, 2024Pigments, China ink, collages on paperSigned and dated rectoPaper dimensions:
64 x 49 cm / 25.2 x 19.3 inches
Framed dimensions:
79.3 x 64.8 cm / 31.2 x 25.5 inches -
Isabella DucrotLittle vaso, 2022China ink, pencil, pigments and collage on paperSigned rectoPaper dimensions:
40 x 27.5 cm / 15.7 x 10.8 inches
Framed dimensions:
51.4 x 38.9 cm / 20.2 x 15.3 inches -
Isabella DucrotPushing Pots, 2019Watercolor, pigment and oil pastel on Nepal paperSigned, dated and titled rectoPaper dimensions:
56.5 x 88 cm / 22.2 x 34.7 inches
Framed dimensions:
68 x 99.8 cm / 26.8 x 39.3 inches -
Isabella DucrotBella Terra XLII, 2019Mixed media on Chinese paper, framedSigned and dated recto26.5 x 50 cm / 10.4 x 19.7 inches
Framed dimensions:
38.9 x 61.5 cm / 15.3 x 24.2 inches -
Isabella DucrotBella Terra XI, 2020Mixed media on paperSigned rectoPaper dimensions:
26 x 50 cm / 10.2 x 19.7 inches
Framed dimensions:
39 x 61.5 cm / 15.3 x 24.2 inches -
Isabella DucrotBella Terra XXVIII, 2020Mixed media on paperSigned rectoPaper dimensions
31 x 44.5 cm / 12.2 x 17.3 inches
Framed dimensions:
42,5 x 56.4 cm / 16.5 x 22.2 inches -
Isabella DucrotBella Terra XXX, 2020Mixed media on paperSigned rectoPaper dimensions:
30.5 x 44.5 cm / 12.1 x 17.5 inches
Framed dimensions:
42.5 x 56.5 cm / 16.7 x 22.2 inches -
Isabella DucrotBella Terra XXIII, 2020Mixed media on Chinese paperSigned and dated rectoPaper dimensions:
31 x 44 cm / 12.2 x 17.3 inches
Framed dimensions:
42.5 x 56.5 cm / 16.7 x 22.2 inches -
Isabella DucrotRipetizione (from the series Arazzi), 2020Pigments on ancient Afghan silkSigned and dated recto220 x 115 cm
86.6 x 45.3 inches -
Isabella DucrotRobe (from the series Arazzi), 2020Mixed media on textileSigned and dated recto230 x 145 cm
90.5 x 57.1 inches -
Isabella DucrotAbito, 2016Mixed media on silk183 x 147 cm
72.1 x 57.9 inches -
Isabella DucrotGrande abito (from the series Arazzi), 2020Textile and pigment on Indian paper275 x 230 cm
108.3 x 90.5 inches -
Isabella DucrotFazzoletto, 2007Mixed media on textileSigned rectoPaper dimensions:
38.5 x 35.5 cm / 15.2 x 14 inches
Framed dimensions:
49.6 x 46.7 cm / 19.5 x 18.4 inches -
Isabella DucrotBig Aura, 2017Silk and pigments on paper and textile393 x 477.5 cm
154.7 x 188 inches
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News
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Exhibitions
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