Levistre Isabelle
Isabelle Levistre is a self-taught photographer and author originally from Le Havre and based in the Paris region, whose singular path reflects an intuitive quest for identity, roots, and life journeys. After a career in human resources, she chose in 2006 to follow her instincts and devote herself to photography, passionately embracing the world of analog processes. From the very beginning, Isabelle committed herself to rigorous training, enriching her vision through courses at the École des Gobelins, the École du Regard, and the Beaux-Arts of Rueil-Malmaison, as well as through internships and workshops dedicated to alternative and historical photographic processes. This technical and artistic immersion enabled her to master traditional techniques, particularly glass printing, which enhances each of her works. In 2009, she exhibited her first series, Anamnèse, which earned her the Grand Auteur prize at the Bièvres fair. This initial success marked the beginning of a creative journey shaped by series such as Arbor Essence, Nude, and Lockdown, where photography becomes a form of visual writing. Initially working mainly in black and white, her practice has evolved to incorporate digital tools and various alternative processes, allowing her creativity to unfold at every stage of production—from shooting to the final print. Her intuitive approach, favoring the spontaneity of situations over overly constructed staging, leads her to play with the elements of place, moment, and emotion, capturing a subjective and poetic reality. For Isabelle, photography is a true machine for suspending time, reviving emotions, and awakening buried memories. Her images, sometimes evoking the silent clamor of memories or the softness of a stolen moment, reflect a deep engagement with time and memory. Over the years, her work has been presented in numerous exhibitions in Paris (Fotofever), Arles, Venice, Brussels, Basel, and elsewhere. She is now represented by Little Big Galerie in Paris and Arles. Alongside her artistic practice, Isabelle regularly organizes workshops dedicated to historical photographic processes, sharing her expertise and passion. Isabelle Levistre’s approach, balancing technical mastery and poetic sensibility, is rooted in a constant search for the right form of expression. By playing with light, shadow, and textures, she gives voice to her images, revealing a shared intimacy and a deep connection to a world where each photograph becomes both a fragment of time and an invitation to reminiscence. In short, Isabelle Levistre combines the mastery of historical techniques with a contemporary approach to photographic creation, offering viewers works that are far more than a simple visual experience—an immersion into the very essence of memory and emotion.
