Isabella Ducrot
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Biography
Photo: Albrecht FuchsBorn 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, the Madre Museum in Naples will present a retrospective of Isabella Ducrot, curated by Adam Weinberg. In 2024 Ducrot had a comprehensive solo show at the 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; San Giuseppe alle Scalze a Pontecorvo, Napoli; 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.
Her work is held in the permanent collection of the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Rome; Astrup Fearnley Collection, Oslo; 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.
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.
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Isabella Ducrot
Pots 2025-1, 2025Pigments and collage on paper
Paper dimensions:
120 x 180 cm / 47.2 x 70.9 inches
Framed dimensions:
137.5 x 196.3 cm / 54.1 x 77.3 inches -
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.
– Isabella Ducrot
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In the series 'La bella terra', rivers, sky, stars, moon and trees are used again and again in order to compose many laudative songs for the earth's fundamental virtues and the urge to protect them.
– Isabella Ducrot
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News
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Isabella Ducrot
'True Colors. Textiles: motion, colors, and identities' (Group Show), MAXXI L'Aquila - Museo nazionale delle arti del XXI secolo, Province of L'Aquila
June 7 – November 16, 2026 7 June 2025Textiles as a language for artistic expression and the construction of narratives, spaces, and relationships. The exhibition draws inspiration from and gives voice to various...Read more -
Isabella Ducrot
'Arte Povera – A New Chapter' (Group Show), EMMA - Espoo Museum of Modern Art
April 9, 2025 – February 1, 2026 9 April 2025Arte Povera – A New Chapter explores how women artists have worked in the spirit of the arte povera movement from the 1960s to the...Read more
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Works
Isabella Ducrot
Tendernesses III, 2024Pastel, pigments, pencil, silver and collage on paperSigned and dated recto166 x 98 cm
65.4 x 38.6 inchesB-IDUCROT-.24-0018Isabella Ducrot’s Tendernesses series is a combination of traditional textile art, elements of modernist abstraction and contemporary themes of intimacy with their cultural continuity. Ducrot’s work not only celebrates the...Isabella Ducrot’s Tendernesses series is a combination of traditional textile art, elements of modernist abstraction and contemporary themes of intimacy with their cultural continuity. Ducrot’s work not only celebrates the materiality and aesthetic richness of fabrics, but also positions the artist within a contemporary context that highlights the re-evaluation of traditional methods of image making. This revival blurs the boundaries between fine art and craft, acknowledging the artistic value of techniques historically considered decorative or utilitarian. Ducrot’s work, with its emphasis on fabric, weaves into this narrative, celebrating the beauty and complexity of textile traditions.
Engaging with themes of memory, time and cultural identity, the works carry the weight of their material histories, resonating with a sense of continuity and constant change. This synthesis creates a dialogue between the past and the present, reflecting the artist's tendency to draw from diverse cultural sources.
While modernist tradition often sought to break with the past, Ducrot’s approach is more integrative. She does not reject traditional forms and techniques but rather recontextualizes them within a contemporary framework. Her works often reflect dialogues between the past and the present, combining historical references with modern sensibilities. Ducrot emphasizes the tactile and visual properties of her materials, inviting viewers to appreciate their texture, color, and composition in new ways.Exhibitions
Sweet Sixteen, Capitain Petzel, Berlin, 2024Exhibitions-
Isabella Ducrot
Altri Fiori 28 February — 12 April 2025Explore -
25 for 2025
11 January — 15 February 2025Explore -
Sweet Sixteen
Celebrating 16 years of Capitain Petzel 7 June — 3 August 2024On the occasion of Capitain Petzel’s sixteenth anniversary, the gallery is excited to present Sweet Sixteen , a group exhibition celebrating the artists who have been integral to its program...Explore -
omelette papier
15 January — 5 March 2022Karla Black, Andrea Bowers, Joe Bradley, Isabella Ducrot, Jadé Fadojutimi, Hadi Fallahpisheh, Anna Gaskell, Georgia Gardner Gray, Stefanie Heinze, Charline von Heyl, Sanya Kantarovsky, Maria Lassnig, Marcel Odenbach, Pieter Schoolwerth,...Explore -
Studio Exhibition: Isabella Ducrot
Erotici 26 February — 17 April 2021Capitain Petzel is pleased to announce a new exhibition by Isabella Ducrot in the Studio space of the gallery. The exhibition will be centered around the artist’s sensual drawings, which...Explore -
Seven-Up
An art fair presentation 24 October — 7 November 2020Capitain Petzel is pleased to announce Seven-Up , a presentation of works by seven artists initially conceived to be shown at this year's FIAC at the Grand Palais in Paris....Explore -
Isabella Ducrot
Big Aura 23 November 2019 — 11 January 2020Through her extensive travels in Asia, Isabella Ducrot has assembled a sublime collection of antique textiles, originating primarily from India, China, Tibet and Afghanistan. Fascinated by the presence of rhythm...Explore
External ExhibitionsWEAVING IS HUMAN. Isabella Ducrot... and the textile collections of the Museum of Civilizations, 2024
Museum of Civilizations, Rome
Press-
Frankfurter Allgemeine: "Wenn wir nutzlos für die Natur geworden sind, sind Frauen endlich frei" (Isabella Ducrot)
21 September 2025 -
Ocula: "‘My Story Is About What I Have Not Done’: Isabella Ducrot on Writing"
Annabel Downes, 5 August 2025 -
OBSERVER: "Isabella Ducrot’s Practice Remains Rooted in the Quiet Power of Materials"
Elisa Carollo, 7 July 2025 -
Artsy: "At 94, Isabella Ducrot Is Gaining Overdue Recognition for Her Tender Paintings"
Maxwell Rabb, 20 June 2025 -
Whitewall: "Visiting Isabella Ducrot’s Studio: Where Fabric Meets Emotion in Rome"
Michael Klug, 30 May 2025 -
Tagesspiegel: "Keine Angst vor Dekorativem: Die Blumenbilder von Isabella Ducrot"
Dorothea Zwirner, 4 April 2025 -
Weltkunst: "Ist das Leben nicht schön?" (Isabella Ducrot)
Annabelle Hirsch, 28 March 2025 -
ArtReview: "Isabella Ducrot and the Textile Renaissance"
Ana Vukadin, 3 February 2025 -
Artnet: "At 94, Artist Isabella Ducrot Is a Rising Star"
Jo Lawson-Tancred, 29 January 2025 -
Artsy: "The Most Influential Artists of 2024" (Isabella Ducrot)
Artsy Editorial, 19 December 2024 -
Electra Magazine: "Isabella Ducrot: Textile Characters"
Leander Gussmann, 1 December 2024 -
The New Yorker: "An Artist Flowering in Her Nineties"
Rebecca Mead, 22 July 2024 -
Monopol: "Dior und die Künstlerinnen Mehr als nur Couture-Kulisse" (Isabella Ducrot)
Leonie Wessel, 29 January 2024 -
Artnet: "See the 93-Year-Old Textile Artist Isabella Ducrot’s Monumental Scenography for Dior Couture"
Lee Carter, 23 January 2024 -
Artforum: "Isabella Ducrot"
23 June 2023 -
Frieze: ''Isabella Ducrot's Practice Is Free From Rules''
Ana Vukadin, 24 March 2023
Publications-
Isabella Ducrot
Recent Animals, Quodlibet, 2025 2025Softcover, 96 pagesRead more
Publisher: Quodlibet
ISBN: 9788822923813
Dimensions: 120x182 mm -
Isabella Ducrot
Isabella Ducrot. Tessere è umano, 2024 Anna Mattirolo, Andrea Viliani, 2024Paperback with flaps, 64 pagesRead more
Publisher: Electra, Rome
ISBN: 9788892827028
Dimensions: 15x23 cm -
Isabella Ducrot
Stoffe, 2023 Isabella Ducrot, 2023Hardcover, 580 pagesRead more
Publisher: Quodlibet
ISBN: 9788822906724
Dimensions: 16.7 x 24 cm -
Isabella Ducrot
Tendernesses, 2022 2022HardcoverRead more
Publisher: Galerie Gisela Capitain Cologne -
Isabella Ducrot
I ventidue luoghi dello spirito, 2022 2022 Read more -
Isabella Ducrot
Women’s Life, 2021 2021 Read more -
Isabella Ducrot
Eros, Galerie Gisela Capitain, Cologne, 2020 2020 Read more -
Isabella Ducrot
The Checkered Cloth, Quodlibet, 2019 2019Softcover, 96 pagesRead more
Publisher: Quodlibet
ISBN: 9788822903822
Dimensions: 120x182 mm -
Isabella Ducrot
Mishima – Banjo, 2017 2017SoftcoverRead more
Publisher: diagonale/librogalleria -
Isabella Ducrot
Text on Textile, 2013 2013Paperback with dust jacket, 26 pagesRead more
Publisher: Sylph Editions
ISBN: 0955296366
Dimensions: 16 x 24 cm -
Isabella Ducrot
Ricordo della Terra, 2002 2002 Read more
Touring a 16th-Century Italian Palace: Isabella Ducrot's Private Art Collection | The World of Interiors
Isabella Ducrot's Studio | Frieze Masters 2024
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