Isabelle Daëron

A graduate of École Nationale Supérieure de Création Industrielle and École Supérieure d’Art et Design in Reims, Isabelle Daëron imagines objects, spaces and installations which she deploys in urban and landscaped environments. Topiques (2010-2024), for example, are structures in public spaces that harness water, wind and light. Certain structures are permanent installations, such as Aéro-Seine, which uses non-potable water to cool the air (Paris, 2019), and Topique-vent : Anémochories for the Athletes Village (Saint-Ouen, 2024).

Drawing and narration are the foundations of her practice, which opens to imaginary worlds and a sensitive understanding of environments and their resources. Water Calling is one example. Jointly developed with Japanese curator Yoshiko Nagai, it explores the invisible mechanisms of Kyoto’s groundwater. Winner of the France Design Impact Award in 2025, the Mondes Nouveaux award in 2021, the FAIRE prize in 2018 and the Audi Talents award in 2015, Isabelle Daëron is the creator of the multi-disciplinary Studio Idaë.

She is represented by Galerie Pavec, Paris.

After Water Calling, which maps Kyoto’s groundwater in texts and drawings, Isabelle Daëron’s project at Villa Kujoyama sets out to examine interfaces with invisible water, which can be the water supply system or underground water, for example grids, valves, gullies and wells. Her objective is to extend this research to cities beyond Kyoto and, ultimately, propose objects for public spaces. The residency could conclude with an urban walking tour. The “world beneath our feet” has less symbolic resonance in Japan than in the west, and this is something Isabelle Daëron wishes to explore.