Isabella Ducrot

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.

In 2026, Madre Museum in Naples will present the first ever retrospective of the artist, curated by Adam Weinberg. In 2024 Ducrot had a comprehensive solo show at Le Consortium Museum in Dijon. She also created a monumental scenography for Dior's spring 2024 haute couture show. Ducrot's large-scale installation Omaggio a Mishima (Homage to Mishima) was part of Art Basel's Unlimited sector in 2022. Her recent solo exhibitions include MAXXI a Taormina, Palazzo Ciampoli; Galerie Gisela Capitain, Cologne; Sadie Coles HQ, London; Petzel, New York; Standard, Oslo; Belenius Stockholm; San Giuseppe alle Scalze a Pontecorvo, Napoli; T293, Rome; Galerie Mezzanin, Geneva; Capitain Petzel, Berlin; Spazio Parlato, Palermo and Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli. 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  EMMA – Espoo Museum of Modern Art; Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Rome; Le Consortium, Dijon; MAMCO, Geneva; MAXXI - Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo, Rome, among others.