#61 Isabelle Zetterström

Isabelle Zetterström on painting the inner world. In her London studio, British-Swedish artist Isabelle Zetterström joins Roland-Philippe Kretzschmar to discuss the imagined landscapes through which she explores emotion, memory and the changing self.

Recorded in October 2026, the conversation begins with a new series of paintings made for Stockholm. Zetterström describes using light and shadow to examine the self we show to others, the person we hope to become and the experiences we keep partly concealed. She reflects on why darkness can feel protective, and how drawing once helped her recognise feelings she could not otherwise name.

We discuss growing up between two cultures, receiving a dyslexia diagnosis at eighteen and finding her way to the Royal College of Art, where she completed her MA Painting in 2026. The conversation also explores daydreaming, poetry, spirituality and the unexpected intimacy of hearing someone else describe what they see in her work.

Zetterström features in Shapeshifting at Belenius, Stockholm, alongside Jenny Palén, Dorothea Tanning and Elsa Thoresen. Co-curated by Kretzschmar and Belenius, the exhibition runs from 6 November to 12 December 2026.

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