Valérie Belin

Valérie Belin uses photography to explore the human body as a powerful vessel for abstraction and projected meaning. She has photographed live models and mannequins, masks and cardsharks, dancers and bodybuilders all while referring to the central theme of reality vs. artificiality. Belin questions the construction and fetishization of mainstream beauty ideals and enduring gender constructs.

Valérie Belin graduated from the École Nationale des Beaux-arts in 1988, where she focused on American art of the ‘60s and ‘70s. She furthered her studies by pursuing philosophy of art at the Université Panthéon-Sorbonne in Paris. Her work has gained global recognition, with solo exhibitions held at prestigious institutions such as the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; the Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA; and the Victoria & Albert Museum, London; Huis Marseilles, Amsterdam; Maison Européenne de la Photographie, Paris; and the Musée de l’Elysée, Lausanne; amongst others. Her work is included in the collections of the Centre Pompidou, Paris; Musée d’art Moderne de la ville de Paris; Kunsthaus Zürich; Los Angeles County Museum; Museum of Modern Art, New York; and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

Belin has been recognized for her contributions to the field of photography with numerous awards, including the Paris Photo prize in 1997, the CCF (HSBC) Foundation for Photography Prize in 2000, and the Prix Pictet in 2015. In 2019, she was appointed as an Officier de l'Ordre des Arts et Lettres in France. A retrospective of her work titled Valérie Belin: “L’incertain Beauté du Monde was on view at the MUba Eugène Leroy in Tourcoing, France through August 2023. Featuring one hundred photographs, the exhibition provides a comprehensive overview of Belin's career.