Overview
Art and politics are two separate entities. The only way to be political in art is to consider the way it’s conceived, disseminated, and received by the public. Otherwise, it’s an art object. I’m interested in a world that keeps adding ideas instead of opposing them. – Neïl Beloufa
Neïl Beloufa’s multi-layered practice occupies the space between various dichotomies. Reality and fiction, cause and effect, presence and absence are the polarities between which the artist’s work begins to take form. Developing his reflection on these by combining various media, including sculpture, video, and painting, into single installations, Beloufa masterfully manages to deconstruct our contemporary systems of belief by moving between the real and the imaginative. Situating the artist between these polarities, Beloufa’s practice is deeply reflective. Examining established structures of power, not least, those within the “creative economy,” while dwelling on the authority that is afforded by artists in contemporary society, Beloufa eliminates his dominant role by awarding agency to actors or materials, informing one another and coexisting in installations as though they are actors and props on a set.
Neïl is also the founder of Ebb.Global – a creative studio that blends technology and creativity, exploring new paths for transformation, shaping multidisciplinary projects, and empowering communities through cultural innovation.
Rejecting the label of sculptor, or any alignment to a particular set of practices or creative processes, Beloufa works primarily as an editor, constructing scenarios to facilitate intersections between different meanings that viewers might build independently.
Neïl Beloufa (b. 1985, Paris, France) lives and works in Montreuil.
The artist has had solo exhibitions at Kunsthalle, Basel (2024), Renaissance Society, Chicago (2024), Kunstpalais, Erlangen (2022); Mendes Wood DM, Brussels (2022); Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2018); Schirn Künsthalle Frankfurt, Frankfurt (2018); Pejman Foundation, Teheran (2017); MoMA PS1, New York (2016); ICA, London (2014); and Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, (2013).
His works have also been presented in institutional group exhibitions at Centre Pompidou-Metz, Metz (2023); Henie Onstad Triennale for Photography and New Media, Høvikodden (2023); Centre Pompidou, Paris (2022); Pirelli HangarBicocca, Milan (2020); 58th Venice Biennale, Venice (2019); Tsinghua University Art Museum, Beijing (2018); Kunstmuseum Luzern, Lucerne (2017); Kunsthalle Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf (2015); La Biennale de Lyon, La Mulatière (2013); Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland (2013); 55th Venice Biennale, Venice (2013); and 11th Baltic Triennale, Vilnius (2012).
Selected Artworks
-
Atm and themes: nature 1, 2024 -
Double standard: savannah landscape, 2024
-
Flowers EACML02368, 2023
-
Mini Flowers B, 2023
-
Jalousing people that don’t care about their surroundings, 2022
-
Talking about ecological transition in the transportation sector, 2022
-
To be titled, 2022
-
Chapitre 6, 2021
-
Giant Flowers B, 2021
-
Chapitre 2, 2020
-
Kruppsfant, 2019
-
Pink and Yellow towel , 2019
-
Red Towel, 2019
-
2016 - 2019, 2018
-
2012, 2017
-
2014 #1, 2017
-
2014 #2, 2017
-
Máquina de lavar, 2017
-
Tuny, 2017
-
Vaso, 2017
-
Love Bench, 2016
-
Chutes, 2015
-
The Office, 2015
-
90º degrees, sports car bar, série Secured wall, 2014
-
A wall, 2014
-
Belief, definition, architect, puzzled bliss, 2014
-
Fire Hairs, Missed date and great expectations in a park, her curves, 2014
-
Happiness bleecher, communities, growing up and consumption, 2014
-
horizontal usb knight, work out, macho dream of a wedding, his length, 2014
-
Maya in SP, the effect; the cause and the fall, 2014
-
Three small lighters, série Vintage, 2014
Videos
Exhibitions
-
Linhas Tortas
Curated by Diana Campbell Sep 2 – Nov 4, 2023 São Paulo, Barra FundaLinhas Tortas is a multi-venue international group exhibition that celebrates the entanglements of journeys and the power of storytelling, marking a decade of Mendes Wood DM. Inspired by the Brazilian...View Exhibition -
Linhas Tortas
Curated by Diana Campbell Sep 2 – Nov 11, 2023 São Paulo, Casa IramaiaLinhas Tortas is a multi-venue international group exhibition that celebrates the entanglements of journeys and the power of storytelling, marking a decade of Mendes Wood DM. Inspired by the Brazilian...View Exhibition -
All season sanctuary
Group Show Jul 30 – Aug 7, 2022 D'Ouwe Kerke, Retranchementd'Ouwe Kerke Dorpsstraat 16 4525 AH Retranchement The Netherlands Alma Allen, Neïl Beloufa, Paloma Bosquê, Varda Caivano, Matthew Lutz-Kinoy, Paulo Nazareth, Hamish Pearch, Hariel Revignet and Miranda Fengyuan Zhang. In...View Exhibition -
Remotely Speaking
Neil Beloufa Jan 22 – Mar 5, 2022 BrusselsA few years ago, well before the NFT hit mainstream, the Speculative Fiction writer William Gibson, who coined the term cyberspace (Neuromancer , 1984), told me that in the future...View Exhibition -
20xx
Neïl Beloufa Sep 27 – Nov 12, 2017 São Paulo, Barra FundaMendes Wood DM is pleased to present 20xx, Neïl Beloufa’s second solo exhibition at the gallery. Revolving around the multiple paradoxes inherent to our consumer culture, the artist presents a...View Exhibition -
Superlatives and Resolutions
Neïl Beloufa May 31 – Jun 26, 2014 São Paulo, Barra FundaMendes Wood DM is pleased to present Superlatives and Resolutions , the first solo exhibition of French-Algerian artist Neïl Beloufa in Brazil. The show is a singular combination of various...View Exhibition
News
Enquire
Sign up to our newsletter to receive the latest updates about Neïl Beloufa and the gallery
* denotes required fields
We will process the personal data you have supplied to communicate with you in accordance with our Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe or change your preferences at any time by clicking the link in our emails.
