CAMILLE HENROT
b. 1978, FranceCamille Henrot navigates the worlds of art and anthropology, renowned for merging research, emotion, and social inquiry into immersive contemporary artworks that span film, sculpture, painting, and installation. Her groundbreaking film Grosse Fatigue (2013) saw her awarded the Silver Lion at the 55th Venice Biennale, solidifying her place as a leading figure in contemporary art. In a 2015 interview with Ocula, Henrot discusses her work in depth, including Grosse Fatigue.
Early Years
Born and raised in Paris in 1978, Camille Henrot pursued her artistic education at the École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs, where she specialised in film animation. Early professional experience included assisting influential artist Pierre Huyghe. Since 2013, Henrot has lived and worked between Paris, New York, and Berlin, experiences that feed her exploration of global identity, psychological structures, and cross-cultural narratives.
Camille Henrot Artworks
Henrot’s art practice deftly bridges media—spanning video, sculpture, drawing, painting, and installation—with a signature approach rooted in intensive research and the interrogation of cultural systems. Her work is celebrated for questioning how ideology, belief, and new media shape both individual experience and global conditions.
Seminal Artworks and Developments
Grosse Fatigue (2013)
A defining video installation produced during her Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship, Grosse Fatigue attempts to narrate the story of the universe by blending scientific history and creation myths. Awarded the Silver Lion at the Venice Biennale, it immerses viewers in a flow of images that challenge how knowledge is organised and experienced.
Playing on themes of insanity, madness, and information overload, the 13-minute video features overlays of computer pop-ups in a restless accumulation of objects and specimens. Speaking about the concept behind Grosse Fatigue, Henrot explained to Ocula Magazine: ‘The more information you have access to, the more unhappy you’re likely to be, and Grosse Fatigue—consider even just the title—is connected to this’.
Henrot later expanded on the ideas presented in Grosse Fatigue, bringing together an eclectic mix of objects, images, and sculptures in her acclaimed solo exhibition, The Pale Fox at London‘s Chisenhale Gallery in 2014.
The Pale Fox (2014)
Expanding the ideas of Grosse Fatigue, this acclaimed installation at London’s Chisenhale Gallery combined diverse objects, imagery, and sculpture to meditate on information overload and the search for structure in a chaotic world.
‘Days Are Dogs’ (2017)
Presented at Palais de Tokyo, Paris, this major solo exhibition included film, sculpture, and installation to explore themes of authority, routine, and emotional structure through weekly cycles.
Painting and Sculpture Series (2018–2024)
Recent series such as ‘System of Attachment’, ‘Butter and Bread’, and ‘Abacus’, as well as public installations like A Number of Things (2024) at Hauser & Wirth New York, continue her examination of dependency, imagination, and the complexities of human relationships.
For example, the sculptures and drawings comprising ‘System of Attachment’ (2019) were informed by intensive research, focusing on interpersonal relationships and the importance of attachment in human development.
Select Public Commissions
- Outdoor bronze installations, Middelheim Museum, Belgium
- Site-specific sculptural interventions, Hauser & Wirth, New York
- Permanent works, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Select Awards and Accolades
- Prix Marcel Duchamp (nominee), 2010
- Silver Lion, 55th Venice Biennale, 2013
- Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship, 2013
- Nam June Paik Award, 2014
- Edvard Munch Award, 2015
Exhibitions
Camille Henrot has been the subject of both solo and group exhibitions at important galleries and major institutions worldwide.
Solo Exhibitions
- A Number of Things, Hauser & Wirth, New York (2024)
- Wet Job, Middelheim Museum, Antwerp (2022)
- Is Today Tomorrow, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne (2021)
- Days Are Dogs, Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2017)
- The Restless Earth, New Museum, New York (2014)
Group Exhibitions
- Liverpool Biennial (2021), Liverpool
- Berlin Biennale (2016), Berlin
- Lyon Biennale (2013), Lyon
- Institute of Contemporary Art, London
- Centre Pompidou, Paris
- Musée d’Art Moderne, Paris
More Reading
Camille Henrot’s practice has been featured in leading magazines such as CURA., Artspace, and Ocula Magazine. For an in-depth conversation, see her interview with Stephanie Bailey in Ocula Magazine.
Camille Henrot FAQs
Where can I see Camille Henrot’s work?
Camille Henrot’s works are exhibited internationally and can currently be viewed in major public and private collections, including Hauser & Wirth, New York; Middelheim Museum, Antwerp; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; New Museum, New York; and Palais de Tokyo, Paris. Galleries such as Mennour, Paris, and Hauser & Wirth, New York and London, have shown her artwork regularly.
What is Camille Henrot’s most famous artwork?
Camille Henrot is best known for Grosse Fatigue (2013), which won the Silver Lion at the 55th Venice Biennale and explores the overwhelming abundance and organisation of knowledge in the digital age.
What are the major themes in Camille Henrot’s art?
Her art investigates the intersections of emotion, anthropology, identity, power, information, and the complexities of relationships, often drawing upon psychoanalysis, mythology, and global systems of meaning.
How do you pronounce Camille Henrot’s name?
Camille Henrot is pronounced: cah-MEEL en-ROH, using a French accent.
Are there any interesting facts about Camille Henrot?
An intriguing facet of Camille Henrot’s art is her interdisciplinary approach: she trained in animation and film yet remains celebrated for her installations, sculpture, and painting. Her work often comments on the structures of knowledge, attachment, and the digital age. As noted in her Ocula interview, she is fascinated by how ‘the articulation of the particular and the specific and dealing with primary emotions—fear, sexual desire, aggression—was at the root of every all-encompassing, global strategy’.
How has Camille Henrot influenced contemporary art?
Henrot is considered one of the most influential contemporary artists of her generation, known for bridging genres and challenging the boundaries between high art and everyday experience. Her recognition includes major biennials, international awards, and representation by globally respected galleries.
Can I purchase Camille Henrot’s artworks?
Yes, Camille Henrot’s art is represented by leading contemporary art galleries such as Hauser & Wirth and Mennour. Artworks are available for viewing and purchase through gallery platforms and curated art fairs. You can follow the artist on Ocula to be updated on exhibitions and new artworks, and news regarding her practice.
Ocula | 2025
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