Kader Attia Biography

Kader Attia spent much of his childhood between Algeria and France and lived in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Venezuela as a young adult. With such a background, a key component of his work is the question of cultural conflict. Approaching his work with a multicultural lens, Kader Attia is known for exploring the legacy of colonialism: the ongoing impact of Western culture and politics on the Middle East and North Africa, as well as the impact within Western countries themselves.

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Working across a range of media, materials, scales and symbols, Attia’s many individual series at first appear self-contained. However, he continually returns to the overarching themes of the impact of politics, culture, and cultural displacement, maintaining a sustained critical look at the complexities of modern life.

Using unconventional materials including couscous and plastic bags, Kader Attia explores how non-Western people construct and shape their identities in the face of, in the knowledge of, or in the shadow of Western cultural hegemony. A notable aspect of his practice—one that enables an exploration of this dichotomy—is his focus on architecture: exploring the disparities and similarities between East and West in order to highlight and rectify the social and political divides between the two cultures.

Kader Attia studied at the École Supérieure des Arts Appliqués Duperré, Paris; the Escola Massana, Centre d’Art i Disseny, Barcelona; and the École nationale supérieure des Arts Décoratifs, Paris. His work has been included in major international art exhibitions including the 12th Gwangju Biennale (2018); 12th Shanghai Biennale (2018); 13th Lyon Biennale (2015); dOCUMENTA 13, Kassel (2012); and the 54th Venice Biennale (2011), among others.

In March 2021, Kader Attia was announced as the curator of the 12th Berlin Biennale.

Kader Attia Solo Exhibitions include:

Kader Attia: Remembering the Future, Kunsthaus Zürich (2020); Mirrors of Emotion, Lehmann Maupin, New York (2019); The Museum of Emotion, Hayward Gallery, London (2019); Kader Attia, Museo de Arte de São Paulo, Brazil (2018); Scars Remind Us that Our Past is Real, Fundació Joan Miró, Barcelona (2018); The Field of Emotion, The Power Plant, Toronto (2018); Kader Attia, Museum of Contemporary Art Australia, Sydney (2017); Prix Marcel Duchamp, Centre Pompidou, Paris (2016).

Kader Attia Group Exhibitions include:

When Home Won’t Let You Stay: Migration through Contemporary Art, Minneapolis Institute of Arts (2020); Clapping with Stones: Art and Acts of Resistance, Rubin Museum, New York (2019); Trans-Justice: Paracolonial@technology, Museum of Contemporary Art Taipei (2018);  The Fabric of Felicity, Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow (2018); How to Live Together, Kunsthalle Wien, Vienna (2017); But a Storm is Blowing from Paradise, Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York (2016).

Georgia Messervy | Ocula | 2021

Kader Attia
featured artworks

Untitled (Big Bang) by Kader Attia contemporary artwork sculpture
Kader Attia Untitled (Big Bang), 2024 Sculpture, mirror-polished stainless steel
176 x 176 x 14 cm
Lehmann Maupin Request Price & Availability
Mirrors and Masks by Kader Attia contemporary artwork sculpture
Kader Attia Mirrors and Masks, 2023 Wooden mask, mirrors, pigment, glue, metal stand
30 x 20 x 17 cm
Lehmann Maupin Request Price & Availability
The Ruins of Revolution by Kader Attia contemporary artwork sculpture
Kader Attia The Ruins of Revolution, 2019 12 cast in concrete
40 x 35 x 30 cm
Lehmann Maupin Request Price & Availability
When Cardboard Repairs Plastic #4 by Kader Attia contemporary artwork sculpture
Kader Attia When Cardboard Repairs Plastic #4, 2016 Scooter shells, cardboard box, fibreglass
114 x 180 x 42 cm
Galerie Krinzinger Request Price & Availability
Man in Front of the Sea by Kader Attia contemporary artwork photography
Kader Attia Man in Front of the Sea, 2009 Lightbox
146 x 181 x 17 cm
Galerie Krinzinger Request Price & Availability
Le Corps Reconstruit #13 by Kader Attia contemporary artwork painting, works on paper, photography, print
Kader Attia Le Corps Reconstruit #13, 2014 Paper collage on cardboard
36 x 45.5 cm
Galerie Krinzinger Request Price & Availability
Demo(n)cracy by Kader Attia contemporary artwork sculpture
Kader Attia Demo(n)cracy, 2010 Light installation
49 x 480 x 3 cm
Galerie Krinzinger Request Price & Availability
Untitled by Kader Attia contemporary artwork sculpture
Kader Attia Untitled, 2019 Mirror polished stainless steel
185.42 x 191.77 x 3.18 cm
Lehmann Maupin Request Price & Availability

Kader Attia
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Represented by these
Ocula Member Galleries

Lehmann Maupin contemporary art gallery in 501 West 24th Street, New York, United States
Lehmann Maupin Hong Kong, Beijing, London, New York, Seoul +1
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Kader Attia in
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