13 Facts About Thomas Hirschhorn

Thomas Hirschhorn was born on 16 May 1957 and is a Swiss artist who lives and works in Paris.

Thomas Hirschhorn has become known for using everyday materials in the creation of complex sculptures executed often on a large scale.

Thomas Hirschhorn's work has been exhibited in galleries and museums in Europe, in the United States, and in South America.

From 1978 to 1983, Hirschhorn attended the School of Applied Arts in Zurich, where he was inspired by Beuys and Warhol exhibitions.

In 1983, Thomas Hirschhorn came to Paris to take part in the 'Grapus'-collective as a graphic designer.

Thomas Hirschhorn then started to create works in space that incorporate sculpted forms, words and phrases, free-standing or wall mounted collages, and video sequences.

Thomas Hirschhorn uses common materials such as cardboard, foil, duct tape, magazines, plywood, and plastic wrap.

Since early 1990s, Thomas Hirschhorn has created more than seventy works in public space.

Thomas Hirschhorn has dedicated works to writers, philosophers, artists he loves, in the form of altars, kiosks, maps, monuments or sculptures.

In 2013, Gramsci Monument, tribute to the Italian political theorist and Marxist Antonio Gramsci, was the fourth and last monument, and the first project that Thomas Hirschhorn built in the United States.

Thomas Hirschhorn's works are held in collections worldwide, among which the Art Institute of Chicago; Centro de Arte Contemporanea Inhotim, Brumadinho; Coleccion Jumex, Mexico; Dia Art Foundation, New York; K21, Dusseldorf; Kunsthalle Mannheim; Musee national d'Art moderne - Centre Pompidou, Paris; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; Philadelphia Museum of Art; Pinakothek der Moderne, Munchen; Tate Modern, London; Walker Art Center, Minneapolis.

Thomas Hirschhorn received the Preis fur Junge Schweizer Kunst, the Marcel Duchamp Prize, the Rolandpreis fur Kunst im offentlichen Raum, the Joseph Beuys Prize, the Kurt Schwitters Prize, and the Meret Oppenheim Prize.

Thomas Hirschhorn was part of the jury which selected Gaelle Choisne as winner of the Marcel Duchamp Prize in 2024.