Mircea Cantor, born in Oradea, Romania, in 1977, is a contemporary artist whose practice transcends cultural and disciplinary boundaries. Defining himself as a citizen of the Earth, Cantor embodies the global artist, whose work resonates beyond national contexts and is anchored in a deep reflection on social dynamics, structures of power and contemporary realities.
More about the artist→
Cantor’s work is characterised by a perceptive exploration of uncertainty and mystery, inviting the viewer to question the certainties of the modern world. Through film, sculptural installation and performance, Cantor elaborates visual narratives that call into question prevailing notions of knowledge and predictability. His emblematic film Deeparture (2005), in which a wolf and a deer are confined in a closed space, perfectly illustrates this tension between coexistence and confrontation.
Beyond his subtle critiques of power structures, Cantor also engages a dialogue with empirical methods of observation and of interaction with objects and images. The work Tracking Happiness (2009), a video showing a group of women tracing circles of flour on the ground, symbolises that elusive quest for happiness and the perpetual cycle of human searching.
More recently, Cantor has turned his work towards a reappraisal of craft knowledge and cultural traditions. Exploring the intuitive energy that underlies artistic creation, he questions how different fields of knowledge can illuminate our understanding of time, consciousness and experience.
Solo exhibitions at the Centre Pompidou, the Fondation Hermès in Tokyo, the Fondazione Giuliani in Rome and the Musée Picasso in Paris. Prix Marcel Duchamp in 2011, Prix Paul Ricard. His works are held in the collections of the Centre Pompidou, the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid.
Education2→
2000
École supérieure des beaux-arts, Nantes, post-diplôme
jusqu’en 1999
Université d’art et de design, Cluj-Napoca
Awards and residencies9→
2019
Officier de l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres, FranceChevalier de l’Ordre national du Mérite, Roumanie
2018
Finaliste du Mario Merz Prize, Fondazione Merz, Turin
2017
Aspen Leadership Prize, Bucarest
2011
Prix Marcel Duchamp, Centre Pompidou, ParisBest Dance Short Film pour Tracking Happiness, Tiburon International Film Festival
2008
Nomination, Artes Mundi Prize, Cardiff
2004
Prix Fondation d’entreprise Ricard, ParisRésidence, Cité internationale des arts, Paris
Solo exhibitions59→
2025
Room with a view, Magazzino & _Polimeno, Paris
2024
Thirst for Stillness, Galeria Plan B, Berlin
2023
Mâini adjectivând munca, Muzeul Textilelor, Băița
2022
Fire Doina, Base / Progetti per l’arte, Florence
2021
Nulla dies sine linea, Éditions Dilecta, ParisArt Club #32, Villa Médicis, Rome
2020
Am I Really Free ?, STUK Arts Center, Louvain
2019
Înainte, Chapelle de l’Oratoire, Musée d’arts de NantesHangar Art Center, BruxellesArt Unlimited, Art Basel, BâleLa Passe Muraille, Forteresse de Salses
2018
Chasseur d’images, Musée de la Chasse et de la Nature, ParisAdjective to your presence, Fondation d’entreprise Hermès, TokyoHistory Is Just a Bullet on Your Timeline, VNH Gallery, Paris
2017
Your Ruins Are My Flag, Fondazione Giuliani, Rome
2016
La Partie invisible de l’infini, Atelier Brancusi, Centre Pompidou, ParisActe I, Acte II, Acte III, Fondation Francès, SenlisSalle des Gardes, Château de Pierrefonds5775, Part II, Dvir Gallery, Tel-Aviv
2015
Unlimited, Art Basel, BâlePerformance, Musée Picasso, Paris5775, Part I, Dvir Gallery, Tel-Aviv
2014
Selected Works, Rennie Collection, VancouverTi do la mia giovinezza, Magazzino, Rome
2013
Q.E.D., MNAC, Muzeul Naţional de Artă Contemporană, Bucarest
2012
Sic transit gloria mundi, Centre Pompidou, ParisRestless. Films and Other Works, Museum of the Moving Image, New YorkSic transit gloria mundi, MACRO, Rome
2011
More Cheeks than Slaps, Le Crédac, Ivry-sur-SeinePhishing, Salzburger Kunstverein, Salzbourg
2010
Heilige Blumen, Kunsthalle NürnbergKlug wie die Schlangen und einfältig wie die Tauben, Museum Abteiberg, MönchengladbachDeeparture, Musée Rodin, ParisShooting, Dvir Gallery, Tel-Aviv
2009
Tracking Happiness, Kunsthaus ZürichThe Need for Uncertainty, Camden Arts Centre, LondresWhich Light Kills You, The Common Guild, GlasgowWhite Sugar for Black Days, Galerie Yvon Lambert, Paris
2008
The Need for Uncertainty, Modern Art OxfordThe Need for Uncertainty, Arnolfini, BristolFuture Gifts, Műcsarnok, Budapest
2007
A Free Smile, Galerie Yvon Lambert, New YorkDeeparture, Black Box, Hirshhorn Museum, WashingtonCiel variable, FRAC Champagne-Ardenne, ReimsDeeparture, Museo Tamayo, MexicoMagazzino, Rome
2006
The Title Is the Last Thing, Philadelphia Museum of Art, PhiladelphieBurn to Be Burnt, GAMeC, BergameJucării pentru copii, avec Ion Grigorescu, Protokoll Studio, Cluj-Napoca
2005
Deeparture, Galerie Yvon Lambert, New YorkPrix Ricard, Centre Pompidou, ParisSi tu marches plus vite, il pleut moins fort, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbonne
2004
Preview, Magazzino d’Arte Moderna, Rome
2003
Corporate Identity, FRAC des Pays de la Loire, CarquefouCorporate Identity, Galerie Yvon Lambert, ParisIn Front of My Eyes, Trans>Area, New York
2002
The Right Man at the Right Place, Galerie Yvon Lambert, ParisPing Pang Pong, Association Entre-deux, Nantes
1999
Headlines, Gad Photogallery, Bucarest
Group exhibitions (selection)89→
2025
Dans le flou, une autre vision de l’art de 1945 à nos jours, Musée de l’Orangerie, ParisMême les soleils sont ivres, Collection Lambert, Avignon
2023
Panorama L’Aquila, projet ITALICS, L’AquilaIn the Air, Flying Machines, Hangar Y, MeudonAfter Sculpture, Cazarma U, TimișoaraDifferent Degrees of Freedom, Kunsthalle Bega, TimișoaraOn Marvellous Things, Kunsthal KAdE, Amersfoort
2022
Es-senze, Museo di Palazzo Mocenigo, VeniseBuilding and Dreaming, Tianmuli Art Museum, Hangzhou
2021
Hemp Back to the Future, Musée national du paysan roumain, Bucarest
2019
Persona, Mucem, MarseillePersona grata, MAC VAL, Vitry-sur-SeineLa Lune, Grand Palais, ParisGolden Room, Palais des Beaux-Arts, LilleLa Brique, La Kunsthalle, MulhouseMario Merz Prize, Fondazione Merz, Turin
2018
Bridging the Gap, Tsinghua University Art Museum, PékinLine of Sight, MUDAC, LausanneDouble Heads Matches, Új Budapest Galéria, Budapest
2017
The Place To Be, MAXXI, RomeMACBA Collection 31, MACBA, BarceloneThe Electric Comma, V-A-C Foundation, Palazzo delle Zattere, VeniseBivouacs, Le Magasin CNAC, GrenobleMomenta, biennale de l’image, Montréal
2016
Là où commence le jour, LaM, Villeneuve-d’AscqChoices, Palais de Tokyo, ParisWall to Wall, Carpets by Artists, MOCA ClevelandA History: Contemporary Art from the Centre Pompidou, Haus der Kunst, MunichHistoricode, Nanjing International Art Festival, Nankin
2015
Une histoire. Art, architecture et design des années 1980 à nos jours, Centre Pompidou, ParisZero Tolerance, MoMA PS1, New YorkFire and Forget. On Violence, KW Institute for Contemporary Art, BerlinMapping Bucharest, MAK, VienneNow, at the Latest, Kunsthalle KremsRastros y vestigios, Museo Amparo, PueblaMenagerie, ACCA, Melbourne
2014
Damage Control. Art and Destruction since 1950, Kunsthaus GrazManifest Intention. Drawing in All Its Forms, Castello di Rivoli, TurinWill Happiness Find Me ?, Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery, TokyoThe Red Queen, MONA, HobartLe Mur, la collection Antoine de Galbert, La Maison rouge, Paris
2013
Expo 1: New York, MoMA PS1, New YorkLe Pont, MAC, MarseilleDesire Lines, ACCA, MelbourneVom Zaudern, Württembergischer Kunstverein, Stuttgart
2012
Parole des images, Palazzo Grassi, Pinault Collection, VeniseTRACK, S.M.A.K., GandI Decided Not to Save the World, SALT, IstanbulOne Sixth of the Earth, MUSAC, León
2011
I Decided Not to Save the World, Tate Modern, LondresThe Workers, MASS MoCA, North AdamsImage to Be Projected until It Vanishes, Museion, Bolzano
2010
Les Promesses du passé, Centre Pompidou, ParisA Shot in the Dark, Walker Art Center, MinneapolisFall Out, Malmö KonsthallI Believe in Miracles, Collection Lambert, AvignonUnsichtbare Schatten, MARTa Herford
2009
Barock, Museo MADRE, NaplesThe World Is Yours, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, HumlebækLa Force de l’art 02, Grand Palais, ParisLes Archipels réinventés, Centre Pompidou, ParisUniversal Code, The Power Plant, Toronto
2008
Here Is Every. Four Decades of Contemporary Art, MoMA, New YorkArtes Mundi 3, National Museum CardiffShifting Identities, Kunsthaus ZürichEurasia, MART, Rovereto
2007
Airs de Paris, Centre Pompidou, ParisBrave New Worlds, Walker Art Center, MinneapolisAn Atlas of Events, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, LisbonneParanoia, Freud Museum, Londres
2006
La Force de l’art, Grand Palais, ParisNotre Histoire, Palais de Tokyo, ParisHuman Game, Stazione Leopolda, FlorenceCluj Connection, Haunch of Venison, ZurichDada East ?, Cabaret Voltaire, ZurichPrintemps de septembre, Toulouse
2005
Universal Experience, Museum of Contemporary Art, ChicagoNach Rokytník. The EVN Collection, MUMOK, VienneWar Is Over 1945-2005, GAMeC, BergameOn Difference, Württembergischer Kunstverein, Stuttgart
2004
New Video, New Europe, The Renaissance Society, Chicago, et Tate Modern, LondresQuick-sand, De Appel, AmsterdamMediterraneo, MACRO, Rome
2003
In the Gorges of the Balkans, Kunsthalle Fridericianum, CasselDisplaced, UCLA Hammer Museum, Los AngelesPoesis, Műcsarnok, Budapest
2001
Traversées, ARC, Musée d’art moderne de ParisArt Judgment Show, Moderna Galerija, Ljubljana
2000
Transitioland, Muzeul Naţional de Artă, Bucarest
Biennials20→
2024
Public Art Abu Dhabi Biennial, Cultural Foundation, Abou Dabi
2022
4e Triennale de Katmandou
2015
56e Biennale de VeniseVita Vitale, pavillon de l’Azerbaïdjan, 56e Biennale de Venise
2014
19e Biennale de Sydney, You Imagine What You Desire
2013
5e Biennale de Moscou, projets spéciaux
2011
Triennale de Yokohama, Our Magic Hour
2009
2e Biennale de ThessaloniqueKunstfilmbiennale, Cologne
2008
28e Biennale de São Paulo
2006
4e Biennale de BerlinBiennale de BusanBiennale internationale d’art contemporain de SévilleWhitstable BiennalePeriferic 7, Iaşi
2004
Biennale de Cetinje
2003
50e Biennale de Venise, Clandestine2e Biennale de Tirana
2001
49e Biennale de Venise, pavillon roumain
2000
Periferic 4, Iaşi
Public collections17→
Centre Pompidou, Musée national d’art moderne, ParisMuseum of Modern Art (MoMA), New YorkMuseo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, MadridMuseu d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona (MACBA), BarcelonePhiladelphia Museum of Art, PhiladelphieHirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, WashingtonWalker Art Center, MinneapolisKunsthaus Zürich, ZurichMuseum Abteiberg, MönchengladbachMNAC, Muzeul Naţional de Artă Contemporană, BucarestCastello di Rivoli, TurinMuseion, BolzanoMACRO, RomeThe Israel Museum, JérusalemMagasin III, Stockholm21c Museum, NashvilleV-A-C Foundation, Moscou
Private and foundation collections6→
Fondation Louis Vuitton, ParisPinault Collection, Paris et VeniseCollection Lambert, AvignonFondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo, TurinFondazione Giuliani, RomeRennie Collection, Vancouver
