Isabelle Armand France, USA, 1959

Isabelle Armand worked with fashion photographers in her native Paris prior to permanently relocating to New York City in the 1980’s, where she continued working as a stylist and producer. At that time, she began to experiment with medium format analog photography. Eventually, Armand’s own need to create drew her away from the fashion industry. She assumed the position of U.S. editor for the French publication Connaissance des Arts, in whose pages her portraits of contemporary artists such as James Turrell appeared (1995-2001).

Since then Armand has devoted herself to her own work. She continued to capture the artists around her including Gordon Parks, Carrie Mae Weems, Robert Irwin, Mark Di Suvero, Ghada Amer and Sanford Biggers. Armand also started to document the communities of her hometown of New York, such as the residents of Harlem. She partnered with non-profits by creating visual works and participating in events (i.e. Spirit of Community at Dwyer Cultural Center, Harlem, NYC (2009); El Colegio Del Cuerpo Dance Company, Colombia/NYC (2007); Objects and Lenses, Reclaimed Focus, Haim Chanin Fine Arts, NYC (2008); Marie Brooks Pan Caribbean Dance Theater, Harlem, NYC (2001-2004)). She collaborated with artist Leonardo Drew on an artist book around one of his body of work (2002-2004). Armand was also commissioned to create artists’ books for private collectors (2004-2006/2009-2012).

Over time, Armand’s work evolved to immersive documentaries and in-depth visual essays. From 2013 to 2018, she memorialized the story of two men in rural Mississippi, who endured wrongful conviction for crimes they did not commit and were subsequently exonerated. Her landmark book of photographs, Levon and Kennedy: Mississippi Innocence Project, was published in March 2018 by PowerHouse Books, NY, and has been widely acclaimed. This project appeared in the exhibition, Prisons Today, Eastern State Penitentiary Museum, Philadelphia in 2016. It was also the subject of a solo show at the Julian Sander Gallery, DE in 2019.

In 2018, Armand expanded her visual vocabulary with film. In 2023 after five years, she completed photographing and filming a documentary short Glendora. A selection of her black and white images were included in Paris Photo’s exhibition The State Of The World, Espace Beaurepaire, Paris, July 2018. This chronicle explores the issues of legacy, rural poverty and memory in the Mississippi Delta. She is currently editing and in post-production phase for both the photography book and documentary film. Since 2021, Armand is also working on a stills and film project in New Mexico around a Chiricahua Apache family, Joe and Victorio. It investigates matters such as environment, culture and language preservation.

Armand’s works can be found in private collections, and museum collections. In addition, they have been featured both in national and international publications. Armand was also awarded several grants from the SHOEN Foundation and from La Fondation CUVELIER in support of her long-term projects.