isabelle
RocheMars

Born in 1965 in Annonay, a graduate of the École Nationale des Beaux-Arts de Lyon, Isabelle RocheMars lives and works in Cadenet, France.
Isabelle RocheMars is a visual artist. The concept of invisible reality is a pivotal element in her work, which explores the boundaries between the infinitely small and the infinitely large.
Her recent works draw inspiration from the natural sciences. Inspired by microscopic elements such as diatoms and coccolithophores, she creates artworks that transform these invisible structures into revealing patterns of the universe. Working with organic materials like marine sediments integrated with pigments, she crafts compositions where science and imagination interplay.
Thus, the "Exosquelettes de Courageuses" celebrate human courage by transposing the complex forms of coccolithophores into representations of protective suits, akin to those worn by astronauts or divers. These pieces reflect not only a fascination with invisible worlds but also an introspective quest for resilience and wonder.
For the "Reliquaries" in 2015-2016, sculptural boxes contain a relic not meant to be seen, brought back from a journey, from a kilometer to infinity. Guardians of an unknown that piques curiosity, these reliquaries evoke the tales of certain travelers, within which always remains a part of the unbelievable, the mysterious part of the recounted journey, unverifiable, oscillating between history and fiction.
With the series "Microscopic Relics" in 2019 and 2021, Isabelle RocheMars re-examined the notion of relics by depicting chimeras of coccolithophores. These exoskeletons arranged around cells are, for her, boxes, microscopic sculptures, each containing a cell that appears golden under the microscope due to its pigmentation. This work integrates these elements into frames or installations where the forms seem to come alive, escape, and reappear. This dynamic evokes the very act of scientific observation, when a hidden world is suddenly revealed. The omnipresent black background in her works acts as a metaphor for the infinite, whether in the cosmos or in microscopic space.
Her work is distinguished by a dark and luminous aesthetic: black backgrounds symbolizing the vastness of the unknown, illuminated by golden pigments and organic textures, transporting the observer into a universe that is both intimate and cosmic.