Christian Boltanski to represent France at Venice in 2011

Christian Boltanski, one of France’s major contemporary artists, has been selected to occupy the French pavilion at the 54th Venice Biennale in 2011. The artist has chosen as curator Jean-Hubert Martin, former director of the Pompidou Centre and of Düsseldorf’s Museum Kunst Palast. Boltanski follows on from Annette Messager, who won the Golden Lion in 2005, Sophie Calle in 2007, and Claude Lévêque en 2009. You can familiarise yourself with Boltanski’s work now at the Grand Palais for Monumenta, with an impressive installation ‘Personnes’ (People), the cousin to a different show ‘Après’, which opens this Friday at the Mac/Val.