Massinissa Selmani

Texts by Kaveh Akbar, Mouna Mekouar, Stéphanie Straine
Foreword by Catherine David

A complete monograph on the artist shortlisted for the Prix Duchamp 2023 Massinissa Selmani is an artist born in 1980 in Algiers. After studying computer science, he decided to attend the École Supérieure des Beaux Art in Tours. His talent was recognized at the 56th Venice Biennale with a special mention from the jury.

His works have joined private and public collections, notably those of the Centre Pompidou and the Musée National d’Art Moderne in Paris. Massinissa Selmani was awarded the Sam Prize in 2016, which enabled him to exhibit at the Palais de Tokyo. The artist has chosen the omnipresence of current events as the common thread running through his work. Documentary drawing is at the root of his artistic practice. Many of his drawings are composed of or inspired by press clippings, in which he takes pleasure in picking out elements likely to serve as a basis for his works, and then juxtaposes them with more absurd and mystical components. In this way, the artist plays with balance, hesitates between fiction and reality, and constructs ambiguous images that trigger mystery, intrigue and reflection in the viewer. The artist gives pride of place to space, to the white of the page. His drawings are airy, surrounded by white margins, like a creative zone left free for the viewer to explore.

Context and temporality are left to the viewer, who has fun guessing. Massinissa Selmani’s art is not limited to the second dimension; he likes to play with relief and often accompanies his wall-hung works with three dimensional creations. This book pays tribute to the work of an artist who reinvents reality, while at the same time delivering it. Massinissa Selmani never ceases to enjoy blurring the boundaries between reality and fiction.