Neïl Beloufa
Neïl Beloufa (born in 1985 in Paris, France) is a French-Algerian artist who lives and works in New-York. He studied at Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts and at école Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs, Paris ; at California Institute of the Arts, Valencia (USA) ; at Cooper Union, New York and at Le Fresnoy – Studio national des Arts Contemporain, Tourcoing (France).
His works deftly combines sculpture and moving-image media to create immersive viewing spaces.
His works have been displayed in numerous solo exhibitions including K11, Shanghaï, 2016, MoMA, Museum of Modern Art, New-York, 2016, Schinkel Pavillon, Berlin, 2015, ICA, Institute for Contemporary Arts, Londres, 2014, Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, 2013, Palais de Tokyo, Paris, 2013.
He also took part in Shanghaï Biennial en 2014, the 55th Venice Biennale, 2013, as well as the 2013 Lyon Biennial.
Beloufa was nominated for Artes Mundi Prize (Cardiff, Royaume-Unis), 2016, the Nam June Paik Award (Essen, Allemagne) in 2016 and Marcel Duchamp Prize in 2015.
He is the recipient of Meurice Prize for contemporary art 2013, Audi Talent Awards 2011 and Agnès B. Studio Collector Prize, 2010.
Kempinski | France 2007 | Video | 12 min 41s
Kempinski is a mystical and animist place. People emerge from the dark, holding fluorescent lamps; they speak about a magical world. “Today we have a space station. We will launch space ships and a few satellites soon that will allow us to have much more information about the other stations and other stars.” Their testimonies spark confusion and contradiction: a second reading is necessary to fully understand what is going on in this unique blend of fiction (sci-fi) and ‘real’ documentary. The scenario of ‘Kempinski’, filmed in various towns in Mali, is defined by specific rules: interviewed people imagine the future and speak about it in the present tense. Their hopeful, poetic and spiritual stories and fantasies are recorded and edited in a melodc way. Image and text courtesy of the artist, and Ghebaly Gallery.