Abdelkader Benchamma
The artist
Born in 1975 in Mazamet (France), Abdelkader Benchamma lives and works in Paris and Montpellier.
A graduate of the Beaux-Arts de Montpellier and the École des Beaux-Arts de Paris, his preferred medium is drawing.
Nourished by literature, philosophy and astrophysics, his drawn installations continually challenge exhibition spaces, becoming, in his words, “spaces of resonance”, conducive to the summoning of memories, both individual and collective, geological and spiritual.
His vast ephemeral frescoes are painted directly onto walls with ink, transforming architecture into an otherworld, a world of flux and mental landscapes, between the recognizable and the indiscernible, on the border between the physical and the symbolic. Reflecting on the workings of perception, his works explore our systems of knowledge, the survival of myths and beliefs, but also reminiscences, retinal or neuronal persistence, whether on museum walls or sheets of paper.
A graduate of the Beaux-Arts de Montpellier and the École des Beaux-Arts de Paris, his preferred medium is drawing.
Nourished by literature, philosophy and astrophysics, his drawn installations continually challenge exhibition spaces, becoming, in his words, “spaces of resonance”, conducive to the summoning of memories, both individual and collective, geological and spiritual.
His vast ephemeral frescoes are painted directly onto walls with ink, transforming architecture into an otherworld, a world of flux and mental landscapes, between the recognizable and the indiscernible, on the border between the physical and the symbolic. Reflecting on the workings of perception, his works explore our systems of knowledge, the survival of myths and beliefs, but also reminiscences, retinal or neuronal persistence, whether on museum walls or sheets of paper.
Exhibitions
-
Cosmography
June 27 - August 1, 2024
New York -
Cosma
January 7 - March 18, 2023
Paris - Beaubourg -
Signes
September 3 - October 24, 2020
Brussels -
From the Paper to the Wall
June 6 - July 26, 2019
Brussels -
Engramme
March 16 - May 19, 2019
Paris - Beaubourg
Biography
| Birth | Born in 1975 in Mazamet, France |
|---|---|
| Residence | Lives and works in Montpellier and Paris, France |
| Education | 2003 - École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts, Paris, France 2000 - École Supérieure des Beaux Arts, Montpellier, France |
SOLO SHOWS (SELECTION)
| 2026 | TEMPLON, Paris, France |
|---|---|
| Espai d'Art Contemporani de Castelló (EACC), Castelló de la Plana, Spain | |
| 2024 | Landscape of the fall, Het Noordbrabants Museum (HNBM), ‘s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands |
| 2023 | Solastagia: Archaeologies of Loss, The Power Plant, Toronto, Canada |
| Œuvre croisée, Librairie des Colonnes, Tangier, Marocco | |
| Géologie des déluges, Fondation François Schneider, Wattwiller, France | |
| COSMA, Templon, Paris, France |
Voir plus
GROUP SHOWS (SELECTION)
| 2025 | Islamic Arts Biennale, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia |
|---|---|
| Apocalypse. Hier et demain, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris, France | |
| Lire le ciel, Mucem, Marseille, France | |
| 2024 | Au bord des mondes, Prix Marcel Duchamp, Center Pompidou, Paris, France |
| Le jour des peintres, Musée d’Orsay, Paris | |
| Les lois de l’imaginaire, curated by Laure Forlay and Sophie Sizabuire, FRAC Auvergne in collaboration with the Musée d’Art et d’Archéologie, Aurillac, France | |
| 2023 | Prendre le soleil, Hangar Y, Meudon, France |
Voir plus
COLLECTIONS (SELECTION)
| Grand Paris Express, Vitry-sur-Seine, France | |
| Musée régional d’art contemporain, Sérignan, France | |
| FRAC Auvergne, Clermont-Ferrand, France | |
| MATHAF, Musée Arabe d’Art Moderne et Contemporain, Doha, Qatar | |
| FRAC Occitanie Montpellier, Montpellier, France | |
| DRAC Centre, Orléans, France | |
| FRAC Languedoc Roussillon, Montpellier, France |
Voir plus
RESIDENCIES (SELECTION)
| 2026 | Villa Albertine, New York, USA |
|---|---|
| 2018 – 2019 | Villa Medicis, Roma, Italy |
| 2017 | Beirut Art Residency, Lebanon |
| 2016 | a.r.i.a Residency, Algiers, Algeria |
AWARDS
| 2024 | Finalist for the Marcel Duchamp prize, Paris, France |
|---|---|
| 2018 | Winner of the Occitanie-Médicis Price, France |
| 2015 | Winner of the Drawing Now Price, France Art Collector Price, France |
Press
Le Journal des Arts- March 2025
One Apocalypse trop ordonnée à la BNF
Grande Loge de France- February 2025
Apocalypse - Hier et demain
Connaissance Des Arts- February 2025
Exposition à Paris: L'Apocalypse vue par les artistes, enter catastrophe et révélation
Le monde - February 2025
La Biennale des arts islamiques de Djedda, l'autre levier du soft power saoudien
Roxana Azimi
The Art Newspaper - january, 2024
Les nommés du Prix Marcel-Duchamp dévoilés
Le Quotidien de l'Art - january, 2024
Le prix Marcel Duchamp révèle ses 4 finalistes
François Salmeron
Canvas - January, 2024
Finalists for the Marcel Duchamp Prize 2024 Announced
Beaux Arts Paris - january, 2024
Abdelkader Benchamma, finaliste pour le Prix Marcel Duchamp 2024
Les Inrockuptibles - July, 2023
Les déluges sortent du cadre
Télérama - janvier 2023
La Chronique d'Olivier Céna
The Art Newspaper - janvier 2023
La Fondation François Schneider donne carte blanche à Abdelkader Benchamma
The Art Newspaper.fr - mars 2020
Le Grand Paris Express, laboratoire pour les artistes
Anne-Lys Thomas
Daily Art News Paper.fr - décembre 2019
Pour Abdelkader Benchamma, le dessin est une fin en soi
Sébastien Planas
La Croix - octobre 2018
Une plongée cosmique dans la nuit blanche
M le Magazine du Monde - avril 2018
Exploration souterraine
Art Absolument - juillet 2011
Le dessin comme archipel
News
Abdelkader Benchamma
PRENDRE LE SOLEIL
Group show
Hangar Y, Meudon
From December 16, 2023 to April 21, 2024
On the occasion of the group show Prendre le soleil, Abdelkader Benchamma will exhibit two artworks from December 16, 2023 at Hangar Y in Meudon.
Jean-Michel Alberola
Abdelkader Benchamma
HISTOIRES DE PIERRES
Group show
Villa Medici, Rome
From October 13, 2023 to. January 14, 2024
On the occasion of the group show Histoires de pierres, Jean-Michel Alberola and Abdelkader Benchamma exhibit their works from October 13, 2023 at Villa Medici in Rome.
Abdelkader Benchamma
SOLASTALGIA: ARCHAEOLOGIES OF LOSS
Solo Show
The Power Plant, Toronto
From October 13, 2023 to March 24, 2024
Abdelkader Benchamma’s solo exhibition Solastalgia: Archaeologies of Loss opens on October 13, 2023 at The Power Plant in Toronto.
Abdelkader Benchamma
NEITHER THE SKY NOR THE EARTH
Solo Show
Lago Algo, Mexico City
From September 15 to December 23, 2023
Abdelkader Benchamma’s solo exhibition Neither the sky nor the earth opens on September 15, 2023, at Lago Algo in Mexico City.
Abdelkader Benchamma
ŒUVRE CROISÉE
Solo Show
Librairie des Colonnes, Tangier
From July 1 to September 1, 2023
Abdelkader Benchamma’s solo exhibition “Œuvre Croisée” opens on July 1, 2023 at Librairie des Colonnes in Tangier.
Abdelkader Benchamma
GÉOLOGIE DES DÉLUGES
Solo Show
Fondation François Schneider, Wattwiller
From May 13 to September 24, 2023
On the occasion of his solo show on the theme of the flood, Abdelkader Benchamma questions this universal myth, the collective psyche that is attached to it and conceives a fragmented territory.
Abdelkader Benchamma
CONSTELLATIONS
Group show
Musée d’art moderne de Céret, France From May 13 until November 26, 2023
On the occasion of the group show Constellations at the Musée du Céret, Abdelkader Benchamma will exhibit his artworks from May 13, 2023.
Orsten Groom
Oda Jaune
Abdelkader Benchamma
GROUP SHOW – IMMORTELLE
MO.CO, Montpellier
From March 11 to May 7, 2023
As part of the group show Immortelle at MO.CO, Oda Jaune, Abdelkader Benchamma and Orsten Groom will be exhibiting their work from March 11 to May 7, 2023. Immortelle offers an ambitious panorama of young French figurative painting. For the first time, the exhibition will be spread over all the art centres and will be organised in two parts.
