Nicène Kossentini

Nicène Kossentini is a contemporary artist who creates videos, photographs, sculptures, works on paper and paintings.

Biography of Nicène Kossentini

Nicène Kossentini was born in 1976 in Sfax, Tunisia. Her journey as an artist began with her formal education, culminating in a degree in Applied Arts from the Fine Art Institute of Tunis, Tunisia, and Advanced Studies in Art from Marc Bloch University in Strasbourg, France. Currently serving as an assistant professor of Experimental Cinema at the University of Tunis, Tunisia, she continues to inspire and mentor the next generation of artistic innovators.

Her recent solo exhibitions include "Je me souviens des recommandations de Mr le président" at Selma Feriani Gallery in Tunis (2019), "Fugitive" at Casa Árabe in Córdoba (2016), "The Flight of the Butterfly or the Myth of Icarus Revisited" at Selma Feriani Gallery in Tunis (2014), and many more. 

Nicène Kossentini has participated in group exhibitions, including the 7th and 12th editions of the Bamako Encounters – African Biennial of Photography, the 2nd Thessaloniki Biennal of Contemporary Art, the 25th Alexandria Biennale for Mediterranean countries, the Biennale of World Images, among others.

Kossentini's artworks are featured in numerous esteemed art collections, including The British Museum, Musée - Frac Occitanie at Les Abattoirs, Fondation Blachèr, the Kamel Lazaar Foundation, and the Sindika Dokolo Foundation. 

Nicène Kossentini's Art Style

Nicène Kossentini's work beckons viewers to immerse themselves in a space that is simultaneously intimate and uncertain. Through manipulation of black and white contrasts and areas of partial visibility, Kossentini constructs unique and minimalist environments.

Her photographs and videos capture the essence of locations and surfaces on the brink of vanishing, captivating the observer with the anticipation of impending events. Through her videos, photographs, sculptures, works on paper, and paintings, she interrogates contemporary global events. In this pursuit, she consistently seeks to infuse her art with aesthetics, beauty, and poetry as a means to confront cold violence. Kossentini's artistic exploration draws inspiration from her familial history, intimate and intergenerational storytelling traditions, Arabic poetry, literature, and philosophy.