ISABELLE GROSSE

BIO

Isabelle addresses in her artwork questions related to different kinds of shaping processes and structures in occidental and contemporary society.

From one medium to another, photography, video, interactive devices, Isabelle focuses on the occupation of space in contemporary society and how the bodies take shape there. The art of Isabelle Grosse relies on both crowds as a collective forms, and individual portraiture.

As a photographer, she has developed for a long time a personal visual process called "Outlining", in which she frames groups (crowds, cities, objects, landscapes) within her photographs in order to reveal collective forms. Isabelle Grosse has also developed an outdoor interactive video project which questioned collective mobility : she is the author of « Upstream », a monumental interactive video installation that was set up and displayed in front of the Paris City Hall during "Nuit Blanche″ 2005.

More recently, she has developed a work on portraits inspired by the approach of sociologist Erving Goffman in « The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life ». She has developed several series about gender following the idea of gender as performance, popularized by American poststructuralist philosopher Judith Butler. She is also known for her series about Dragqueens, voguing and urban culture.

She has collaborated with the sociologist Dana Diminescu for an interactive movie UBI-Screen about the way Migrants share their intimacy through video-communications.

Isabelle Grosse is actually starting another collaboration with artist and physicist Jean-Marc Chomaz, who does research on stability, time and geofluids. They will be conducting experiments in his lab at Ecole Polytechnique (Paris) in order to visualize and question the fragility of water.

In November 2025, she be participating in The International Photography Biennale Photo Hanoi (Vietnam)

She is represented in major public and private collections, such as the French National Contemporary Art Fund, the City of Paris Fund of Contemporary Art, the UBS Foundation Collection… In 2023, the National Museum of Immigration, « Palais de la Porte Dorée », has acquired her interactive movie UBI-Screen for its permanent collection.

RESUME

Selected solo exhibitions

2023 : opening of the new National Museum for Immigration, Palais de la Porte Dorée (Paris)
2016 invited speaker at UCLA (University of California)
2014-2015 October-January, « Structures in Chaos », Gianna Sistu Gallery (Paris)
2009 Docks Art Fair, Lyon, France, « Dis-Appearances », Vanessa Quang gallery, Paris (France)
2008 « Shaping », Maison des Arts de Malakoff (France)
2006 « Bouger les mots », interactive public installation, Bucarest (Romania)
2005 « Upstream », monumental interactive installation, Paris city hall square (France)
2004 « Cache:moi », Nuit Blanche (Paris) Photo studio, installation, Palais de Tokyo (Paris)
2004 « Reversible », Centre for contemporary art, Castres (France)
2003 Residency, Espace de l'art concret, Mouans Sartoux (France)
2001 « Formatter », Anton Weller gallery (Paris)
1998 « Urban marker », 150 meter long urban strip wrapping the Odeon National Theatre (Paris)
1997 « Recto/Verso », installation,Maison de la Radio (Paris)
1997 « Defaire l'image », installation for the 50th edition of the Festival de Cannes (France)

Selected group exhibitions

2025 The International Photography Biennale Photo Hanoi (Vietnam)
2012 « Collectionner aujourd'hui », Saint-Restitut contemporary art center (France)
2011 « Modèles danses », European month for photography, Arsenal de Metz (France)
2011 « Home sweet home », Arthotheque du Limousin (France)
2009 Contemporary drawing art fair in Paris, Vanessa Quang gallery (France) European Photography Month (Luxembourg)
2008 « l'Artothèque au Musée », Art and archeology Museum, Gueret (France)
2008 « The Month of images », Ho Chi Min (Vietnam)
2007 « Venezia video art fair », Venice (Italy)
2007 « Transimages 2 », French Institute, Yokohama (Japan)
2007 « Rencontres photographiques de Solignac » (France)
2006 « Transimages 1 », French Institute, Yokohama (Japan)
2004 « video : séquence 1 », Maison des Arts de Malakoff (France)
2004 « autres frontières », Artothèque du Limousin (France)
2003 « Inout Festival », Praha (Czech Republic)
2003 « A l'année prochaine », Artothèque du Limousin (France)
2002 « Trade », NFI (Nederlands Foto Institut), Rotterdam (The Nederlands) La Fabrique, Tokyo (Japan)
2002 « Quick Mode/ Mode acceleré », Vox gallery, Montreal (Canada)
2001 « Trade », Fotomuseum Winterthur (Switzerland) Art Forum Berlin, Anton Weller gallery (Germany) FIAC Paris Anton Weller gallery (France)
2000 « emplacements/deplacements », Anton Weller gallery, Paris (France)
2000 « domiciles », Tanlay Art center, Tanlay (France)
2000 « L'art dans le vent », Chamarande Art Center (France)
2000 « Les semaines européennes de l'image », le Havre (France)
1999 FIAC Paris, Anton Weller gallery (France)
1997 « Le centenaire d'Aragon », Blanc Mesnil Center for Culture (France)

Public collections

2023 : Ubi-Screen, part of the permanent collection of The National Museum for the history of the immigration (Paris), « Palais de la Porte Dorée »
FNAC (French National Fund for Contemporary Art)
BDIC Museum (Paris)
Fond Municipal d'art contemporain de la Ville de Paris (City of Paris Fund for Contemporary Art)
Fond Départemental d'art contemporain du Nord (North Region Fund for Contemporary Art)
Fond Départemental d'art contemporain de l'Essonne (Essonne Distr. Fund for Contemporary Art)
Artothèque du Limousin (Limousin Contemporary Art Museum)
Private Collections
CMA-CGM Corporate Foundation (third largest container shipping company in the world)
UBS Corporate Collection (Switzerland)
COLAS Corporate Collection (largest road building company in the world)

Private collections

CMA-CGM Corporate Foundation (third largest container shipping company in the world)
UBS Corporate Collection (Switzerland)
COLAS Corporate Collection (largest road building company in the world