Biography

Valérie Belin is a French artist.

Born in Boulogne-Billancourt in 1964.

Lives and works in Paris.

A student at the École Beaux-arts de Versailles (1983–1985), and then at the École Nationale Supérieure d’Art de Bourges (1985-1988), she obtained the French higher national diploma in visual expression in 1988 and also holds a diploma in advanced studies (DEA) in the philosophy of art from the Université de Paris Panthéon-Sorbonne (1989).

Initially influenced by various minimalist and conceptual tendencies, Valérie Belin became interested in the photographic medium in its own right; this is at once the subject of her work and her way of reflecting and creating. Light, matter and the “body” of things and beings in general, as well as their transformations and representations, constitute the terrain of her experiments and the world of her artistic ideas. Her work is articulated in photographic series, each one produced within the framework of a specific project.

The works of Valérie Belin have been exhibited around the world and are held in numerous public and private collections. Winner of the Prix Pictet in 2015 (Disorder), she was made an officer of France’s Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2017. This same year, a touring exhibition was co-produced by the Three Shadows Photography Art Center in Beijing, the SCôP in Shanghai and the Chengdu Museum. In 2019, Valérie Belin unveils a major new series at the Victoria & Albert Museum in London.

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2000 CCF Award (HSBC Foundation for Photography Award)

2001 Altadis Award

2001 Villa Médicis hors les murs - AFAA (Association Française d’Action Artistique)

2015 Prix Pictet

2017 Officier de l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres, Ministry of Culture and Communication

2023 Commandeur de l'ordre des Arts et des Lettres, Ministry of Culture

2024 Elected member of Académie des beaux-arts, France 

Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris, France.

Centre national d’art et de culture Georges-Pompidou, Paris, France.

Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain, Paris, France.

Fonds national d’art contemporain, Paris, France.

Huis Marseille, Amsterdam, Netherlands.

International Center for Photography, New York, USA.

The Israel Museum, Jerusalem, Israel.

J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, USA.

Kunstmuseum Lichtenstein, Vaduz, Lichtenstein.

Kunsthaus Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.

Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, USA.

MAC VAL, musée d’Art contemporain du Val-de-Marne, Vitry-sur-Seine, France.

Maison européenne de la photographie, Paris, France.

Miniature Museum, Ria & Lex Daniëls Collection, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, The Hague, Netherlands.

Mudam Luxembourg, musée d’Art moderne Grand-Duc Jean, Luxembourg, Luxembourg.

Musée d’Art moderne de la Ville de Paris, Paris, France.

Musée des Beaux-Arts et de la Dentelle, Calais, France.

Musée Galliera, Paris, France.

Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA.

National Gallery of Australia, Parkes ACT, Canberra, Australia.

National Museum of Contemporary Art Korea, Seoul, South Korea.

Norton Museum of Art, West Palm Beach, USA.

Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, USA.

Photo Elysée, Lausanne, Switzerland.

Pilara Family Foundation, San Francisco, USA.

Sammlung Essl, Kunst Der Gegenwart, Klosterneuburg, Vienna, Austria.

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, USA.

Victoria & Albert Museum, London, United Kingdom.