Boltanski was born in Paris on 6 September 1944. His father, Étienne Alexandre Boltanski, a physician, was Jewish and had come to France from Russia, while Marie-Elise Ilari-Guérin, his … See more

Boltanski began creating art in the late 1950s, but did not rise to prominence until almost a decade later through a few short, avant-garde films and some published notebooks in which he … See more

Boltanski began creating mixed media/materials installations in 1986 with light as essential concept. Tin boxes, altar-like construction of framed and manipulated photographs (e.g. Le Lycée Chases, 1986–1987), photographs of Jewish … See more

Boltanski participated in over 150 art exhibitions throughout the world. Among others, he had solo exhibitions at the New Museum (1988), the Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, Magasin 3 in Stockholm, the La Maison Rouge gallery, Institut Mathildenhöhe, the … See more

Boltanski was married to Annette Messager, who is also a contemporary artist, until his death. They chose not to have children. They lived in Malakoff, outside Paris. He was the brother of sociologist Luc Boltanski and uncle of writer Christophe Boltanski See more

• 1994 Kunstpreis Aachen
• 1996 Rolandpreis für Kunst im öffentlichen Raum
• 2007 billionéateurs sans frontières award for visual arts by Cultures France
• 2006 Praemium Imperiale Award … See more

• 1969 "L'Homme qui tousse"
• 1973 "Inventory of Objects Belonging to a Young Man of Oxford"
• 1988 "Christian Boltanski: Lessons of Darkness"
• 1989 Monument to the Lycée … See more