SCULPTURE
A few years ago, working in the third dimension became a necessity: I had to touch and feel the matter.
At the time it was for me the ultimate way to embody the intensity of emotions sprung from nature.
Today I feel my sculptural work is about transcending nature, reaching a manifestation of ecospirituality.
-A fragile human like fragment of driftwood is first transposed into wax then into bronze. Growing by stage from 49cm to 162 cm to fully expand into space at 3 meters from the ground.
-A small leaf caught in a spiderweb is transposed in a large bronze, later in an even bigger aluminum mobile....
Besides, sculpture has led me to fruitful collaborations at the Foundry de Carli in Torino. Meeting the artists Davide Rivalta and the couple Abaldo-Albertelli drove me to curate « my artistic encounters #1 » in October 2020, a successful breath of fresh air in times of Covid.
This experience led to the opening of L’ESPACE AlmaM, in Romainmôtier where exhibitions and artistic residencies as are held throughout the summer.
Isabelle de La Touche, artiste sculpteur, Suisse romande, sculpture bronze
Isabelle de La Touche, artiste sculpteur, Suisse romande, sculpture bronze détail, Romainmôtier, Vaud, Jura
HOPE
Long ago, I picked up a small piece of draft wood on the shores of Lake Geneva.
18 years later I felt the urge to bring it back to life.
Despite its small size (16cm) it exhaled a magnificent breath both fragile and powerful, recalling the Greek letter PSY symbolizing soul or psyche.
I attached it to the wall, started working with ink but something was missing: it had to be a large sculpture levitating above the waters that had stripped it on its journey down a mountain creek to the Rhone river.
My aim through this work is to convey the overwhelming resilient emotion I felt when I first saw this twig. Violently abandoned on the rough sand after a winter storm, its inner vitality is a message of Hope as it reaches out to the sky…
FOGLIA
One late summer morning, as I was running towards the lake with my dog, I spotted this leaf suspended between sky and water.
I was deeply moved.
Using my phone, I captured its magic: there it was, swaying in the breeze.
Clinging to a spider’s web woven between two trees, it danced endlessly between sky and water… refusing to fall. For indeed, it was too soon: summer was still here with its sweltering heat.
Then came the desire to elevate it.
I was a little bit her, she was a little bit me.
First it became a 120 cm bronze leaf, then a 160cm tall sheet of aluminium.
Now it dances forever, like an act of resistance against the stifling heat.
Isabelle de La Touche, sculpture d'une feuille en bronze, sculpteur suisse romande, Romainmôtier, Vaud, Jura, Suisse
Isabelle de La Touche, sculpture d'une feuille en bronze, sculpteur suisse romande, Romainmôtier, Vaud, Jura, Suisse
SNOW STONES
It’s snowing.
After a short climb, we descend the Réchy valley: it’s a white day.
As we make our way down, the weather clears.
The Ar du Tsan rises up from the valley.
It undulates like a skier’s track.
I follow one of its curves and come to an abrupt halt.
Amidst its steep slopes, I discover a form of indescribable softness: two stones linked by a blanket of snow.
I am mesmerised by their fragile sensuality, so intangible, so fleeting.
I must touch them, feel them beneath my palms…
Then they become Lasa marble, the only white marble resistant to the elements.
There they are, like a snow-covered testament to winters past...
MONUMENTAL PROJECTS
Sculpture has allowed me to project myself into monumental scales by responding to public offers. Here are a few examples
