Laure Prouvost

b. 1978, French

Laure Prouvost is a contemporary artist living and working in Antwerp, Belgium, and London, the United Kingdom. The Turner Prize-winning artist is known for her films and installations, creating an—often linguistic—interplay between image, language, linear narratives, and meaning.

Artist Laure Prouvost during her show at M HKA, Museum for Contemporary Art, Antwerp. / Photo: Siska Vandecasteele.

Prouvost, born in 1978 in France, states that in her work, “fiction and reality get really tangled,” in which the viewer is involved directly.[1] “She combines existing and imagined personal memories with artistic and literary references to create complex film installations that muddy the distinction between fiction and reality. At once seductive and jarring, her approach to filmmaking employs layered storytelling, quick edits, montage, and wordplay and is composed of a rich, tactile assortment of images, sounds, and spoken and written phrases. The videos are often shown within immersive environments which comprise found objects, sculptures, painting and drawings, signs, furniture, and architectural assemblages, that are rendered complicit within the overarching narrative of the installation.”[2]

Laure Prouvost has been exhibiting around the globe since roughly 2003. She has had shows in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Belgium, Italy, the United States, Australia, and more. Some of the most important shows are the 56th Venice Biennale in 2015, the Palais de Tokyo in Paris, and the Biennale of Sydney. Her work is widely collected by private and public (major) institutions, including the Saatchi Gallery in London and Video Insight Foundation in Turin. Prouvost is ranked top 1.000 globally and top 100 in France on the Artfacts ranking.[3] As a result, Prouvost features in our article The Most Influential Young Artists.

Artworks by Laure Prouvost

Laura Prouvost, THE PERSON BEHIND WANTS TO TALK TO YOU, 2019. Acrylic and varnish on board — 57.1 x 37.2 x 1.8 cm / 22 3/8 x 14 5/8 x 5/8 in. Courtesy of Lisson Gallery.

Laura Prouvost, Fuck I was born to be here, 2019. Tapestry — 59 1/10 × 94 1/10 in / 150 × 239 cm. Edition 3 + 1AP. Courtesy of Gallery Carlier I Gebauer.

Laure Prouvost, Deep See Blue Surrounding You, 2019. Installation view — variable dimensions (French Pavilion, Venice Biennale 2019). Courtesy of Lisson Gallery.

Laure Prouvost, Feu que, I was born to be here…, 2019. Tapestry, wool, sea weed, sea shells, metal, plastic, egg shells, aluminium foil, led lights, wood, resin, earth, dried grass, mirror and video projection — 250 x 945 cm, 98 3/8 x 372 in, ed. of 3 + 1 ap. Courtesy of Lisson Gallery.

Laure Prouvost, Looking at you looking at us, 2017. Tapestry, thread, video (07’04”) Provenance : Flanders Tapestries BVBA, Rijksweg 416, 8710 Wielsbeke, Belgium. 74 × 98 in / 188 × 249 cm. Courtesy of Galerie Nathalie Obadia.

Laure Prouvost,The Parle Ment Mirror Stick Man (kneeling), 2017. Mixed media, metal, monitor, video (02’03”) – 71 1/2 × 19 7/10 × 61 4/5 in / 181.5 × 50 × 157 cm. Courtesy of Galerie Nathalie Obadia.

Laure Prouvost, Bum Shovel, 2015. Mixed media – 53 1/2 × 17 3/10 × 9 1/10 in / 136 × 44 × 23 cm. Courtesy of Galerie Nathalie Obadia.

Laure Prouvost, For Forgetting, 2014. Mixed media – various dimensions. Installation view. Collection New Museum, New York.

Laure Prouvost, Swallow, 2013. Film still. Collection Maramotti, Reggio Emilia.

Notes:

[1] Artsy, Laure Prouvost at https://www.artsy.net/artist/laure-prouvost consulted 17/09/2020.
[2] Lisson Gallery, Laure Prouvost at https://www.lissongallery.com/artists/laure-prouvost consulted 17/09/2020.
[3] Artfacts, Laure Prouvost at https://artfacts.net/artist/laure-prouvost/54201 consulted 20/11/2020.

Last Updated on May 8, 2023

Sylvia Walker

Sylvia Walker (b. 1986, US) is an art historian, essayist, art critic, and curator. After contributing to numerous publications, and curating exhibitions in the United States of America and beyond, she currently works as the assistant director of Contemporary Art Issue (CAI).