Isabella Tessier is an artist who works between Newcastle and London. Her art practice centres around the methodologies used to research, record and capture the transient experience of performance. The physicality of movement and identity of the performance are translated, through drawing, from the artist’s sketchbook and restaged on a larger than human scale. Past projects include collaborative work with theatre companies in Newcastle (2022), making monoprints in response to dance performances in the 59th Venice Biennale during my British Council fellowship (2022) and exploring footage of dance from the Library of Congress’s digital archive, work exhibited in Karina/Rita (2021).

CV

Education

MA Print Royal College of Art (2023-2024)
First Class Degree Newcastle University BA (Hons) Fine Art (2019-2023)

Solo Exhibitions

‘A Stage upon Which We Move’, Republic Gallery Public Window Box, currently shown at Seaton Delaval Hall, (2023-2024)
‘The Immediacy of Performance Drawing’, Ex-Libris Space, Hatton Gallery(2023)

Group Exhibitions

Print Prize, RBSA, Birmingham (2024)
Out of Thin Air, Southwark Park Gallery (2024)
‘Karina and Me’, Lithograph exhibited at Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair, London (2023)
‘The Flow Project’, Ponteland Primary School, Northumberland (2023)
‘Newcastle Fine Art Degree Show’, Hatton Gallery, Newcastle (2023)
‘Drawing in the Garden’, Digital Venice Biennale Fellowship exhibition (2023)
‘Lift your Skirts’ ARCMTL Montreal Print exhibition, Montreal (2022)
‘Karina The Silent Dancer’ Karina/Rita two-person exhibition The Newbridge Project, Newcastle (2021)
‘Karina The Silent dancer’ Liveness Performance Research Network, Newcastle University Digital exhibition (2021)

Artist Residencies

‘The Flow Project’ with Pele School Trust in Northumberland (2023)
Lithography Apprenticeship with Hole Editions, Newcastle (2022-2023)
Venice Biennale British Council Research Fellowship (June-July 2022)
Lindisfarne Gospels, Newcastle City Council Student Residency (2022)
Words and Worlds, Newcastle City Council Student Residency (2020)

Research and Collaborations

Seminar titled ‘The Immediacy of Drawing Performance Transferred Through Print’ hosted by Newcastle Performance Research Network (2023)
Collaboration with Alphabetti Theatre to produce limited edition print inspired by the play ‘More Blacks, More Dogs, More Irish’ (2022)
Collaborations with Newcastle based TheatreSpace (2022)
Recipient of the Bartlett offsite funding (2021)
Cover design and illustrations for Words and Worlds anthologies:
‘Look at Me Now’ (November 2021)
‘Listen to the Birds’ (May 2021)