Léonard Martin
The artist
Born in 1991 in Paris, Léonard Martin currently lives and works in the French capital. The French art scene has been captivated by his work since he graduated from Beaux-Arts de Paris in 2015. In 2025, he was artist-in-residence at the Villa Albertine in New Orleans after a first residency at the French Academy in Rome at the Villa Medici in 2018-2019.. His creative process makes use of drawings, papers and precious sculptures he occasionally animates with stop motion, a motor or video. He finds his subjects by delving into literature and the history of art. Wooden figures on tracks bring to life the characters of Irish novelist and poet James Joyce on their strolls. Italian painter Paolo Uccello’s horse riders serve as a pretext to create an interactive piece. He sometimes takes a break from building marionettes and automatons and uses painting to capture the theatre of objects that is his workshop. Visibly playing with perspective and cultural labels, particularly “painting” and “sculptures”, the scenes he creates generate a dialogue between mediums and eras.
Exhibitions
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Chef Menteur
January 10 - March 14, 2026
Paris - Beaubourg -
Suite Zabriskie
January 11 - February 24, 2024
Brussels
Biography
| Birth | Born in Paris in 1991 |
|---|---|
| Residence | Works and lives in Paris |
| Education | 2017 Le Fresnoy – Studio des arts contemporains, Tourcoing, France 2015 École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts de Paris |
AWARDS AND RESIDENCIES
| 2025 | Villa Albertine, French Institute for Culture and Education in New Orleans |
|---|---|
| 2021 | Lafayette Anticipations. Paris Résidence À l'œuvre ! |
| 2019 -2020 | Cité Internationale des Arts Paris Montmartre |
| 2018-2019 | Villa Medici, French Academy in Rome, Italy |
| 2018 | Prix Dauphine, Université Paris-Dauphine |
| 2018 | Pollen, Artiste en résidence à Monflanquin |
| 2018 | Villa Belleville, artist residency, Paris |
Voir plus
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
| 2026 | Chef Menteur, Templon, Paris, France |
|---|---|
| 2024 | Rêver debout, Musée des Beaux-Art, Tourcoing, France Suite Zabriskie, Templon, Brussels, Belgium |
| 2023 | La circulation des sympathies, presented by Isabelle and Harry Bellet, Château des Gondi, Joigny, France |
| 2020 | Le Roi Nu, Royal Abbey of Fontevraud, Fontevraud, France |
GROUP EXHIBITIONS (SELECTION)
| 2026 | Des mots et des mondes, École des Beaux-Arts de Paris, France |
|---|---|
| 2025 | À la lumière de Joan Mitchell, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Caen, France |
| Biennale de Paname V, Patinoire de Saint Ouen, Saint-Ouen, France | |
| 2023 | Biennale de Paname 4th Edition, Serre Wangari and Mains d’Œuvres, Saint-Ouen / Pavillon de l’Arsenal, Paris, France Un Salon d’hiver, Bubenberg, Saint-Moritz, Switzerland |
| 2022 | Sparring Partner, Galerie Sabine Bayasli, Paris, France |
| 2020-2021 | A Bartleby, Galleria Alberta Pane, Venice, Italy |
| 2019 | Audi Talents Awards, curating Gaël Charbau, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, France Biennale de Lyon, curating Vittoria Matarese, Usine Fagor-Brandt, Lyon, France LORO, curating Hou Hanru and Evelyne Jouanno, Rome, Italy Viva Villa!, partnership with Villa Medici and Collection Lambert, curating Cécile Debray, Avignon, France |
Voir plus
PROJECTS
| 2022 | K minuscule, writing and staging with Elvire Caillon, New Settings Hermès, Théâtre de la Cité internationale, Paris, France |
|---|---|
| 2021 | Tempura Cockpit, writing and staging with Elvire Caillon, CDN Nanterre – Amandiers, Nanterre, France |
| 2019 | Nuit Blanche, Concorde-Bastille parade, curating Jean-Max Colard and Didier Fusilier, Paris, France |
| 2017 | Invited Artist, Centre Pompidou – Metz, Metz, France |
Press
Paris Capitale - March 2026
Galerie Templon - Léonard Martin. Chef Menteur
Connaissance des Arts - March 2026
"J'ai horreur des natures mortes!": l'artiste Léonard Martin dévoile son étrange carnaval dans une exposition gratuite à Paris
Elisabeth Vedrenne
L'Œil - mars 2026
Léonard Martin. Chef Menteur
Connaissance des Arts - March 2026
Léonard Martin. Il court, il court le furet...
Élisabeth Védrenne
White Hot Magazine - February 2026
Movement, Myth, and Ecology in Leonard Martin's Painting at Templon
Lara Pan
City Magazine - February 2026
Leonard Martin: Painting to the Rythm of a City
Le Paratonnerre - January 2026
Léonard Martin - Chef Menteur et autres voyages artistiques
Transfuge - January 2026
Chef Menteur. Léonard Martin
Connaissance des Arts - February 2025
Gregor Boric et Leonard Martin dialogument au MuBA
News
Léonard Martin
Omar Ba
DES MOTS ET DES MONDES
École des Beaux-Arts, Paris
From March 24 to May 24, 2026
Léonard Martin exhibits his Géant de Picrochole and Omar Ba his Plateforme de la confiance – CFA pillage à huis clos 2 at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. The exhibition Des mots et des mondes questions the role of language in the creation of works of art, narratives, and imaginaries.
Léonard Martin
CONVERSATION WITH OLIVIA VOISIN
Artist talk
TEMPLON, 30 rue Beaubourg, Paris
March 7, 2026, 2:30 - 3:30 pm
As part of the Léonard Martin – Chef Menteur exhibition, TEMPLON invites you to a conversation between Léonard Martin and Olivia Voisin, Chief Heritage Curator and Director of the Orléans Museums. The event will be on LIVE on Instagram and available on replay on our website. RSVP at communication@templon.com
Léonard Martin
À LA LUMIÈRE DE JOAN MITCHELL – MUSÉE DES BEAUX-ARTS, CAEN
Group show
Musée des Beaux-Arts, Caen
From December 5, 2025 to March 15, 2026
On the occasion of the group show À la lumière de Joan Mitchell (In the Light of Joan Mitchell) at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Caen, Léonard Martin will be exhibiting his works from December 5, 2025. The exhibition pays tribute to Joan Mitchell through a dialogue between works by artists with rich inner landscapes.
Léonard Martin
BIENNALE DE PANAME
Group show
Patinoire de Saint-Ouen
From October 23 to November 2, 2025
On the occasion of the 5th edition of the Biennale de Paname, Léonard Martin will exhibit four works from October 23, 2025, at the Patinoire de Saint-Ouen. This free, multidisciplinary festival aims to make contemporary art accessible to a wide audience by highlighting emerging and independent artists.
Léonard Martin
LACOSTE
Installation
Shangri-La, Paris
From April 30 to October 15, 2025
On the occasion of the collaboration between Lacoste and the Shangri-La Paris, Léonard Martin has realized an installation in the Lacoste Pavilion, on view until October 15, 2025.
Léonard Martin
RÊVER DEBOUT – MUBA TOURCOING
Solo Show
Musée des Beaux-Arts, Tourcoing
From September 20, 2024 to February 24, 2025
The Musée des Beaux-Arts in Tourcoing is devoting a solo show to Léonard Martin, curated by Mélanie Lerat and Bénédicte Duvernay, from September 20, 2024.
