Massinissa Selmani

Monograph
Kaveh Akbar, Mouna Mekouar, Catherine David, Stéphanie Straine, 2023
Hardcover 192 pages
Publisher: Skira Press
Dimensions: 22x29cm

This book is the first monograph devoted to Massinissa Selmani.

Most of his work since 2009 is grouped around his central practice of drawing. The artist refers to his works as 'drawn forms', and they involve a subtle balance between staging, architecture and their surrounding spaces. Made up of drawings, installations, sculptures and short animations, they depict scenes often inspired by current events, to which Massinissa Selmani adds supernatural, absurd or mysterious features. Reality becomes imaginary, possible narratives are challenged and ambiguity overrides certainty. The audience is thus free to create its own interpretation of a work in which fiction and reality mingle, creating a new reality.

Massinissa Selmani (born in 1980 in Algiers) has received numerous awards, including a special mention from the Jury at the Venice Biennale in 2015. He was nominated for the Marcel Duchamp Prize 2023.