(b. Saint-Étienne, France, 1964)

Jean-Michel Othoniel graduated from the École Nationale Supérieure d’Arts in Cergy-Pontoise. As a young man, Othoniel transformed his own personal mythologies into works of art, utilizing a variety of media, such as installation, film, sculpture, and photography. Throughout the 1990s, the artist primarily sculpted in brimstone, then turned to volcanic glass after a trip to Sicily where he observed the material results of the volcanic activity on the island firsthand. 

Othoniel first gained international attention for his sculptures exhibited at documenta 9, Kassel, Germany, 1992. Over the years, the artist has had various solo exhibitions, including at the Musée du Louvre, Paris, France, 2019; Musée d’Art Moderne et Contemporain de Saint-Étienne, France, 2018; Musée des Beaux-Arts de Montréal, Canada, 2018; Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, 2015; Brooklyn Museum, New York, 2012; Hara Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan, 2012; and Centre Pompidou, Musée national d’art moderne, Paris, France, 2011. His works are also part of the permanent collections of institutions such as the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the New York Public Library; and the Musée d’Art moderne de la Ville de Paris.

Jean-Michel Othoniel lives and works in Paris, France.