I’m a Paper Artist and Illustrator creating Altered Books with hardback novels, sketchbooks, and journals. Through my work, I aim to highlight the transformative nature of stories in relation to our search for self and belonging. I’m interested in storytelling without language and the ways in which it allows us to connect across cultural differences, often touching on themes of escapism, reflection, and hope, in between.
I have worked with clients such as Simon & Schuster and HarperCollins Children’s Books. My Altered Book “Alice With A Why” is in the Weston Library (Bodleian Libraries) art collection at the University of Oxford, UK, and I have Altered Books in private collections worldwide.
Curriculum Vitae
Based in Nové Zámky, Slovakia
(born. 1992) Leeds, UK
Isobelle Ouzman
Exhibitions
Upcoming:
June 2026, We Dream in Darkness, Solo Exhibition, Beinart Gallery, Brunswick, Australia
November 2026, Glimmers, Group Exhibition, Beautiful Bizarre x Modern Eden Gallery, San Francisco, USA
Solo:
2025, A Window Into, Solo Debut, Arch Enemy Arts gallery, Philadelphia USA
2024, Hidden in Books, Solo Exhibition, Kultúrno-Informačné Centrum, Trenčin, Slovakia
2014, Isobelle Ouzman at Oddfellows, Ghost Gallery, Solo Exhibition, Seattle, USA
Group:
2026, Cabinet of Curiosities, Group Exhibition, Beinart Gallery, Melbourne, Australia
2025, Memories Become Dreams, WOW X WOW gallery, group exhibition, UK
2025, Bound & Unbound VIII, Exhibition Juror, University of South Dakota, USA
2024, Brings May Flowers II, Group Show, Arch Enemy Arts, Philadelphia, USA
2024, Gazing Into Infinity, WOW x WOW Gallery, Online Group Exhibition, UK
2017, Envision, Studio 7, Group Exhibition, Seattle, USA
2015, Tales Untold with Kindra Nikole, Urban Light Studios, Duo Exhibition, Seattle, USA
2010, Tacoma Public Library, Group Exhibition, Tacoma, USA
Artist Residencies
2026, Art Quarter Budapest (aqb), International Residency, May 1-31, Budapest, Hungary
2026, Greywood Arts, Creative Residency, April 27-May 3, Cork, Ireland
2025, Arteles Creative Center, International Residency; “Silence, Awareness, Existence”, January 2-30, Haukijärvi, Finland
Professional Experience
2025, Book cover art, Simon & Schuster, USA - “The Whisperwicks - The Heart of the Weird Wood” by Jordan Lees
2025, Book cover art, HarperCollins Children’s Books, UK - “Alice With A Why” by Anna James
2024, Book cover art, Simon & Schuster, USA - “The Whisperwicks - The Impossible Trials of Benjamiah Creek” by Jordan Lees
2023, Book cover art, Simon & Schuster, USA - “The Whisperwicks - The Labyrinth of Lost & Found” by Jordan Lees
2010, Internship - Art Education & Exhibitions, Tacoma Art Museum, USA
2009, Internship - Volunteer Coordinator & Education Assistant, Tacoma Art Museum, USA
Work in public collections
Weston Library (The Bodleian Libraries), University of Oxford, United Kingdom
Work in private collections
USA, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Switzerland, Sweden, Malaysia, Australia
Select Publications & Features
2024, My Modern Met, “Artist Transforms Discarded Books…”, online feature
2024, The Creativity Cafe, Podcast Interview
2024, Enchanted Living Magazine, Book Lovers Issue, printed publication
2024, Hidden in Books exhibition, Trencin.sk
2023, Creative Pulse Podcast, Ep. 92, Podcast
2023, Orion Magazine, May Issue, printed publication
2023, World Literature Today, May Issue, printed publication
2023, Colossal, Fairytale Scenes Nestle Between the Covers of Isobelle Ouzman’s Altered Books, online
2023, Unseen Sketchbooks, Interview with Isobelle Ouzman, Interview
2023, Atlas Obscura, Enchanting Illustrations Carved From Old Books
2017, Rosa JH Berland, The Carved Books of Isobelle Ouzman, Interview
2015, Hi-Fructose, Isobelle Ouzman’s “Altered Books” Series Turns Literature Into Sculpture
2015, Ignant, Intricate 3D Sculptures Made From Books by Isobelle Ouzman, online feature
2015, My Modern Met, Beautiful 3D Illustrations Breathe New Life Into Discarded Books, online feature