A leading figure on the contemporary art scene, Clément Cogitore has, for over twenty-five years, developed a body of work at the crossroads of contemporary art and cinema. The power of the images he conjures generates narratives that oscillate between reality and fiction, exploring how we inhabit the world today. Collective memory, rituals, and the sacred flow through his films and installations, uncovering the political, social, and mythological forces that shape our contemporary experience.
Cogitore's work is represented in numerous public collections, including Musée National d'Art Moderne - Centre Georges Pompidou, Fonds National d'Art Contemporain, Nouveau Musée National de Monaco, Fonds d'Art Contemporain de la Ville de Paris, FRAC Alsace, Aquitaine, and Auvergne, MAC VAL, as well as in private collections such as the Inhotim Collection, Daimler Art Collection, and Fondation Louis Vuitton.
His works have been exhibited and screened in renowned French and international institutions including Musée National d'Art Moderne - Centre Georges Pompidou and Palais de Tokyo in Paris, MoMA in New York, Kunsthaus Baselland in Basel, Haus der Kulturen der Welt in Berlin, MUDAM in Luxembourg, MADRE in Naples, and Red Brick Art Museum in Beijing. They have also been presented at major international biennials and triennials, including the Lyon Biennale, Berlin Biennale, and Yokohama Triennale.
A former resident of the French Academy in Rome - Villa Medici (2012) and recipient of the Marcel Duchamp Prize (2018), Cogitore has received numerous distinctions for his artistic and cinematic work. In 2019, he directed Jean-Philippe Rameau's opera-ballet Les Indes galantes to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the Paris Opera. The production received international acclaim: selected by The New York Times among the ten best operas of the year, named Best Opera Production 2019 by Giornale della Musica, and awarded the Forum Opera Prize for Best Production 2019. In 2020, he also received the Best Direction award from the Oper! Awards.
His first feature film, Ni le Ciel, Ni la Terre (2015), won the Fondation Gan Prize at Festival de Cannes - Semaine de la Critique and was nominated for the César Award for Best First Film. His second feature, Goutte d'Or (2022), was presented in Special Screening at Festival de Cannes - Semaine de la Critique, won Best Direction at LEFFEST in Lisbon and Best Performance at the Hainan Film Festival. In 2023, it was shortlisted to represent France at the Academy Awards.
Ahead of several major projects planned for 2026-2027, including a production of Mozart's The Magic Flute at the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence in 2026, Cogitore presents a solo exhibition at Mucem in Marseille, on view through September 20, 2026.