Audrey Guttman (b. 1987, Brussels & Paris)
Belgian conceptual artist Audrey Guttman creates multidisciplinary works that hold up a mirror to inner life, revealing the tension between our outer selves and lived experience. Through installation, cyanotype, collage, and poetry, she employs philosophy and art history as investigative tools, crafting each exhibition as a new chapter in her ongoing inquiry.
Drawing from her background in art history, literature, and philosophy, Guttman transforms found materials and vintage imagery into subtly layered compositions that operate as visual poetry. Her practice investigates the paradoxes of presence and absence, revealing hidden worlds and making the invisible visible through a delicate interplay of light, time, and form—each piece an offering to memory.
From her carte blanche exhibition at Christie's Paris celebrating the Surrealist centenary to gallery shows across Europe, Guttman's singular practice has established her as a distinctive contemporary voice whose vocabulary stems from the avant-garde. Her work invites viewers into a unique labyrinth where fragments of reality transform into reflections of our collective psyche—one that doesn't lead to answers, but to an ever-widening field of meaningful questions.
LONG BIO
Audrey Guttman (b. 1987, Brussels & Paris)
Belgian conceptual artist Audrey Guttman creates multidisciplinary works that hold up a mirror to inner life, revealing the tension between our outer selves and lived experience. Through installation, cyanotype, collage, and poetry, she employs philosophy and art history as investigative tools, wrestling with fundamental questions about memory, identity, and human consciousness. Each exhibition functions as a new chapter in her ongoing inquiry into what remains hidden beneath the surface of appearances.
Drawing from her rigorous background in art history, literature, and philosophy (EHESS Paris, Sciences Po Paris), Guttman transforms found materials and vintage imagery into subtly layered compositions that operate as visual poetry. Her practice investigates the unique paradoxes of presence and absence, exploring the fertile threshold between image and memory, history and present day, universal themes and intimate confessions. She reveals hidden worlds and makes the invisible visible through a delicate interplay of light, time, and form—each piece functioning as an offering to memory.
Particularly recognized for her innovative use of cyanotype printing on unconventional surfaces like antique lace doilies, her assemblages of found materials, and her large-scale installations, Guttman creates immersive experiences that gently ask questions of its audience, bringing them back into the studio with her. Her technical versatility spans from intimate collages that accumulate meaning through repeated viewing to architectural installations that transform gallery spaces into contemplative environments. The fundamental equation underlying her work—chance + time = revelation—manifests in processes that reward sustained attention and emotional investment.
From her carte blanche exhibition at Christie's Paris celebrating the Surrealist centenary to solo shows at Saint Laurent, Galerie Ketabi Bourdet, Galerie Nathalie Obadia Brussels, and Galerie Mighela Shama Geneva, Guttman's singular practice has established her as a distinctive contemporary voice whose visual language draws from avant-garde traditions while her conceptual framework is rooted in philosophical inquiry.
Her work has been featured in numerous group exhibitions and international art fairs, with her artist publications extending her pictorial investigations into the realm of poetry and critical writing.
Guttman's intuitive questioning combined with her poetic sensibility invites viewers into a unique labyrinth where fragments of reality transform into reflections of our collective psyche—one that doesn't lead to a center with answers, but to an ever-widening field of meaningful questions. Her practice embodies a remarkable paradox: as it grows more complex and intricate, it simultaneously becomes more direct and personally resonant, creating spaces where complexity and clarity converge in service of deeper understanding.
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