Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster

Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster is a French visual artist and educator renowned for her contributions to video projection, photography, and art installations. Additionally, she has made significant strides in landscaping, design, and writing.

Biography of Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster

Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, born in Strasbourg, France in 1965, started her journey in the art world at a young age. At 17, she balanced her studies at the École du Magasin of the National Centre of Contemporary Art in Grenoble with a job as a museum guard in Grenoble. Additionally, she pursued studies at the Institute des Hautes Études en Arts Plastiques in Paris. Her career as an artist took off in the 1990s, with a primary focus on film.

In 2002, she was honored with the Prix Marcel Duchamp. Before that, she was also awarded the Prix Mies van der Rohe (1996-1997).

Gonzalez-Foerster took part in the 2006 São Paulo Art Biennial and the 2009 Venice Biennale.

Her recent solo exhibitions include "Pistarama" at Pinacoteca Agnelli in Turin (2023), "Alienarium 5" at Serpentine in London (2022), "la chambre humaine & la planète close" at Galerie Chantal Crousel in Paris (2021), "Volcanic Excursion (A Vision)" at Secession in Vienna (2021), and many more. 

Currently, the artist lives and works between Paris and Rio de Janeiro.

Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster's Art Style

Gonzalez-Foerster's artistic approach is inherently interdisciplinary, drawing inspiration from various fields such as film, literature, architecture, philosophy, and critical theory. Through immersive installations that incorporate filmic elements or suggest cinematic themes, she utilizes experiential mediums to interrogate the essence of objects and the significance of context.

Employing a distinctive form of psychological collage within and across her works, her diverse body of work has manifested in numerous forms, ranging from assembled fragments of modernist buildings in Brazil to a personal exploration of 40 years of her own wardrobe. Additionally, she has created immersive light and sound environments designed to evoke the chaos, dread, and wonderment of future lives.

Initially, her focus was primarily on crafting short and minimalistic films. However, she has since diversified her collaborations, engaging in projects ranging from co-authoring a science fiction novel alongside fellow artist Philippe Parreno to collaborating with rock singer Alain Bashung on set design. In her most recent creations, "Apparitions," Gonzalez-Foerster employs live performance and holographic projections to merge characters from history, literature, and film with their sociological origins and implications.