Born in 1957 in Bern, Switzerland.
Lives and works in Paris, France, since 1983.
Thomas Hirschhorn studied in Zurich (1978-1983) and moved to Paris in 1983. Since the mid-eighties, the artist offer displays (“stalls”, “windows”), flimsy structures made of materials such as cardboard, aluminum foil, adhesive brown plastic. Adding photocopies, pictures cut from newspapers or magazines, and photographs, he enrolled in ballpoint comments or questions about recurring themes: culture, economy, politics, religion.
Thomas Hirschhorn is a recipient of the Meret Oppenheim Prize (2018); the Kurt Schwitters Preis, Niedersächsische Sparkassenstiftung (Lower Saxony Savings Bank Foundation) (2011); the Joseph Beuys-Preis, Joseph Beuys-Stiftung (2004); the Marcel Duchamp Prize (2000).
He has had major solo exhibitions at Helga de Alvear Museum, Cacéres (2025) ; MAXXI, Roma (2021); GL Strand Copenhagen, Copenhagen (2021); Ming Contemporary Art Museum, Shanghai (2018); Museum Villa Stuck, Munich (2018); Kunsthal Aarhus, Aarhus (2017); Kunsthalle Bremen, Bremen (2015); Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2014); Institute Of Modern Art Brisbane (2013); DIA Art Foundation, Bronx (2013); Mudam Luxembourg, Luxembourg (2012); 54th Venice Biennial, Swiss Pavillion, Venice (2011); The Power Plant, Toronto (2011); Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, Sint-Martens-Latem (2010); Trussardi Foundation, Milan (2008); Secession, Vienna (2008); Serralves Museum, Porto (2006); Wattis Institute, San Francisco (2006); Musée Précaire Albinet, Aubervilliers (2004); Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt (2003); Musée National d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (2001), among others.
Thomas Hirschhorn was also featured in several international group shows such as the Collection Lambert, Avignon (2022); Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2022, 2012); RMIT Gallery, Melbourne (2021); La Tallera, Mexico (2019); MoMA PS1, New York (2019); Mudam Luxembourg, Luxembourg (2019); Luma Foundation, Arles (2018); Mori Art Museum, Tokyo (2018); Serralves Museum, Porto (2018); Wiels, Brussels (2017); MOCA, Los Angeles (2016); Central Pavilion, 56th Venice Biennale, Venice (2015); MoMA, New York (2015); BNLMTL 2014 (Montreal Biennale), Montreal (2014); Centre Pompidou-Metz, Metz (2014); 13th Istanbul Biennial, Istanbul (2013); Marta Herford, Herford (2013); Shanghai Biennale, Shanghai (2012); Fundacion PROA, Buenos Aires (2011); Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao (2011); Guggenheim Museum, New York (2010); Walker Art Center, Minneapolis (2010); Gwangju Biennale, Gwangju (2010); Museion, Bolzano (2008).
His works have joined the collections of Serralves Museum, Porto; The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago; Bard Museum, New York; La Caixa, Barcelona; Collection Lambert, Avignon; Fonds d'Art Municipal Contemporain de la ville de Genève, Genève; Fonds National d'Art Contemporain, Paris; Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston; Instituto Portugues de Museus, Lisbon; Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris ; K21 Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf; Kunsthaus Zürich, Zürich; Kunstmuseum Basel, Basel; Kunstmuseum St.Gallen, St.Gallen; Musée d’Art Contemporain de Montréal, Montréal; Musée d'Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean, Kirchberg; Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Castilla y León, León; MoMA, New York; The Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles; Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich; Philidephia Museum of Art, Philidephia; S.M.A.K., Ghent; Tate Modern, London; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis; macLYON, Lyon; Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw.
