Christian Boltanski

Christian Boltanski (Paris, 1944 – 2021) examined issues of death, memory, disappearance and loss with a prolific career spanning over five decades. Recognised as one of the most influential artists of his generation, Boltanski exhibited extensively across institutions worldwide and represented France at the Venice Biennale in 2011.

In his evocative work, Boltanski assumed the role of ethnographer, establishing a record of humanity and the passing of time. His creative process translated into photography, sculpture, painting and installation, drawing from collective memory as well as the most personal and intimate stories.

Since the beginning of his career in the 1970s, Boltanski used simple means to address the singulariy of the human experience. In an effort to bring the memory of the departed to the here and now, the artist worked with materials such as piles of old clothes, recording of heartbeats and black-and-white photographs in ambitious installations that evoked sacred spaces.

Christian Boltanski had major retrospectives at Centre Pompidou, Paris; National Museum of Art, Osaka; National Art Gallery, Tokyo; as well as solo exhibitions in institutions such as Espace Louis Vuitton, Tokyo; Busan Museum of Art, Busan; Israel Museum, Jerusalem; Power Station of Art, Shanghai, China; Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Buenos Aires; Museo d’Arte Moderna, Bologna; Museum of Contemporary Art, Monterrey; IVAM – Instituto Valenciano Arte Moderno, Valencia; and Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Santiago, among many others.

Boltanski’s work is part of collections of institutions such as the Centre Pompidou, Paris; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Museom of Contemorary Art, Los Angeles; Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Madrid; Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao and Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York; Tate, London; Finnish National Gallery, Helsinki, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, among many others.

His career was distinguished with recognitions such as the Praemium Imperiale Award and the Kaiser Ring Award. He participated in various iterations of the Venice Biennale and Documenta.