Born in Sint-Truiden, Belgium, Creten has been working on the move for 25 years, from Mexico to Rome, from Miami to Amsterdam. He currently lives in Paris, France. Creten started working with clay from the late 80s, when the medium was still a taboo in the art world. Earth was deemed dirty and damp, while the creator was also seen as a usurper of God, transgressing religious interdicts. Yet, at the same time clay represents 'Earth Mother', linking the sacred to the profane. Creten is one of the earliest exponents of using clay in the context of contemporary art and is considered a precursor alongside Thomas Schütte and Lucio Fontana. As a pioneer in the revival of modern ceramics, Creten continues to influence a generation of young artists today.
Read MoreCreten has been the subject of over fifty solo exhibitions throughout Europe and North America, though his most recent—The Storm, at Middelheimmuseum, Antwerp in 2014 and
Gulden Snede, at Galerie Transit, Mechelen in 2014—were both in Belgium. He has also been in multiple group shows. In 2014 alone he presented works in Girl, (curated by Pharrell Williams) at Galerie Perrotin, Paris; Beating around the Bush Episode #2, at Bonnefantenmuseum, Maastricht, Netherlands
; and Cet obscur objet de désirs: Autour de l'Origine du monde, at Musée Gustave Courbet, Ornans, France. He exhibited at the Louvre in 2005 and the Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature in 2008.
Creten lives and works in Paris, France.
