Marguerite Bornhauser is a photographer of invention. 
Steeped in literature, she composes with images the way one writes with words: to tell stories, create fictions, conjure atmospheres. Her photography does not seek to reproduce reality, but to shift it, turning the medium into a poetic tool.

It all begins with a way of looking. Where attention goes to the monument or the landscape, she looks elsewhere, beyond the frame, towards what no one notices: a flash of light, a fragment fallen to the ground. Isolated and seen up close, the detail loses its bearings and becomes something else. Colour, pushed to the edge of the unreal, lifts it out of the documentary and turns it into a sensory language.

This shift also comes through matter. Film developed in seawater, light leaking into the film, photograms made from collected objects, prints combined with painted glass, subverted photogravure: she lets the world imprint itself physically on the image, with its chance and its accidents. Photography then meets stained glass, printmaking, painting and sculpture.

Across her series, these gestures share a single attention: to what time leaves behind and carries away. The archaeological fragments of Back to Dust, the relics of the Grand Palais renovation in Spectral Matter, the ice of We Are Melting, the buried memory of Le Silence du volcan, the unreachable paradise of Mirage: her images gather what remains and what fades. They invite us to look more slowly at a fragile world, to remember it, but also to care for it.

"[…] a kind of synesthete whose images convey the intensity of her sensory perception […] In fact, her sensitive, painterly approach brings her closer to the great contemporary colourist photographers, notably Saul Leiter" - Damarice Amao, associate curator for photography, Centre Pompidou, When Black Is Burned (Simple Éditions, 2023)

Bio

Marguerite Bornhauser is a French visual artist, born in 1989, who lives and works in Paris. She takes photography beyond its frame, from the camera to the photogram, from painted glass to installation. She graduated from the École nationale supérieure de la photographie in Arles in 2015, after studying literature and journalism at the Sorbonne, and had her first solo show at the Maison européenne de la photographie in 2019.

Winner of Photo London's Emerging Photographer of the Year award (2020), she was given a four-year carte blanche by the Grand Palais on its renovation site and exhibited at the Rencontres d'Arles two years running (2023, 2024). Exhibited from Kyoto to Istanbul and at fairs such as Paris Photo, ARCO and Art Paris, she is represented by Galeria Carlos Carvalho (Lisbon) and works with Galerie Porte B, which presents her solo show at Paris Photo 2026. In 2026, she exhibits alongside Christian Boltanski, Annette Messager and James Turrell at La Maison Guerlain, then at the Swedish Institute with the Hasselblad Foundation. Her work is held in the collections of the MEP, the Philharmonie de Paris and MACAM.

Books are central to her practice: six monographs, with texts by Simon Baker, Damarice Amao and Flavien Berger, including When Black Is Burned (2023), now sold out. Spectral Matter and Mirage will follow in 2026 and 2027.

Major houses also commission her work: Chanel gave her a carte blanche for N°5 (2024–2025 worldwide campaign, photography and film), and she created the images for Terre d'Hermès (2025). As a portraitist and photojournalist, she publishes in Libération, Le Monde, M le magazine du Monde and Wired. For commissions, she is represented by Florence Moll (FMA Le Bureau).

Selected clients

Chanel, Hermès, LVMH, TAG Heuer, Ruinart, Acqua di Parma, Roger Vivier, Nina Ricci, BETC, HEC - Wired, Elle, Marie Claire, Grazia, Madame Figaro, M le magazine du Monde, Le Monde, Libération, Les Échos, L'Obs, Les Inrocks, El País, De Standaard, Fisheye, GUP Magazine, Néon, Causette, Socialter, La Déferlante, Onze Mondial, La Parisienne, Le Petit Voyeur, Africa Mag, Splash & Grab, Marion Vidal, Traits Paris, Van Cleef & Arpels.

Exhibitions

Selected solo exhibitions

2026 - Paris Photo, Grand Palais, with Galerie Porte B; InCadaqués Photo Festival, Spain; Maison des arts Agnès-Varda, Grand Quevilly
2024 - Musée départemental Arles antique, Rencontres d'Arles; Galerie Porte B, Paris
2023 - Musée départemental Arles antique, Rencontres d'Arles; 212 Photography Istanbul
2022 - Galeria Carlos Carvalho, Lisbon; Bildhalle Gallery, Amsterdam
2019 - Maison européenne de la photographie, Paris; Galerie Madé, Paris
2016 - Musée Dupuy, MAP Festival, Toulouse
2015 - Cincinnati Art Museum, USA

All exhibitions 

2027

• (solo) Espace d'art contemporain André Malraux, Colmar, France, March
• (solo) Galerie Porte B, Paris, April
• (solo) Galeria Carlos Carvalho, Lisbon, April
• Mai Manó House – The House of Hungarian Photography, Budapest, July

2026

• (solo) Luxembourg Art Week, Take Off section, Galerie Porte B, Luxembourg, November
• (solo) Paris Photo, Emergence sector, Galerie Porte B, Grand Palais, Paris, November
• Swedish Institute, Paris, with the Hasselblad Foundation, November - February 2027
• La Maison Guerlain, Paris, with Christian Boltanski, Annette Messager, James Turrell, Ugo Rondinone, Rineke Dijkstra and Rinko Kawauchi, among others, October
• (solo) InCadaqués Photo Festival, Cadaqués, Spain, October
• (solo) Maison des arts Agnès-Varda, Grand Quevilly, France, September - December
• Galerie Confort Mental, Paris, Collectif Vives, September
• Art Paris, Promesses sector, Galerie Porte B, duo show with Marion Flament, Grand Palais, Paris, April
• Galerie Porte B, Paris, group exhibition, March - April

2025

• (solo) Salon Nimette, Paris, November
• 212 Photography Istanbul, Küçük Mustafa Paşa Hamamı, September - October
• Rencontres d'Arles off festival, Galerie La Cour cachée, with Galerie Porte B, July
• Les Ateliers de la Madeleine, Arles, July-August
• Galerie Porte B, Paris, duo show with Marion Flament, March

2024

• Paris Photo, Galeria Carlos Carvalho, November
• Waall.6, Galerie de la Fontaine au Roi, Paris, October
• (solo) Université Rennes 2, France, September
• (solo) Musée départemental Arles antique, Rencontres d'Arles, July - September
• Musée de l'Hôtel de Ville, Paris, May
• (solo) Galerie Porte B, Paris, March
• ARCO Madrid, Galeria Carlos Carvalho, March
• Maison européenne de la photographie, Paris, February
• Galerie Sinople, Hôtel de Retz, Paris, December 2023 - January

2023

• Paris Photo, Galeria Carlos Carvalho, November
• Salon Approches, Galerie Porte B, Paris, November
• Don Papa Art Program, prize, November
• (solo) 212 Photography Istanbul, October
• La Nuu Festival, Barcelona, September
• Issy-les-Moulineaux Biennial, France, September
• L'Été photographique de Lectoure, France, July
• (solo) Musée départemental Arles antique, Rencontres d'Arles, July - November
• Hanami 40+, Belgium, May
• Hosting Art, Galerie Porte B, Paris, March
• ARCO Madrid, Galeria Carlos Carvalho, February

2022

• (solo) Galeria Carlos Carvalho, Lisbon, December
• Paris Photo, Galeria Carlos Carvalho, November
• Maison européenne de la photographie, Paris, September
• (solo) Bildhalle Gallery, Amsterdam, September
• (duo) Chapel of Saint Anthony, Naxos, Greece, July
• ARCOlisboa, Galeria Carlos Carvalho, May
• Association Fertile, Paris, May
• French Institute, Istanbul, May
• Le Grand Café – Contemporary Art Centre, Saint-Nazaire, France, March

2021

• Alliance Française, Bahrain, November
• Paris Photo, Galeria Carlos Carvalho, November
• Kyotographie, Hosoo Gallery, Kyoto, September
• Photo London, Galeria Carlos Carvalho, September
• Emerging Photographer of the Year, Nikon, Photo London, September
• Galerie Joseph, Paris, May
• Kasa Gallery, Istanbul, March
• Photo Brussels Festival 05, Hangar Art Center, Brussels, January

2020

• InCadaqués Photo Festival, Cadaqués, Spain, October
• Montreuil Open Studios, France, October
• Espace Futur, September
• Galeria Carlos Carvalho, Lisbon, June
• Paris metro (RATP), 27 stations, June
• Nuits de la photo, Switzerland, February
• Cancelled due to Covid-19: Paris Photo, Photo London, Théâtre national de Chaillot

2019

• Paris Photo, Grand Palais, November
• Salon de la Photo, Paris, November
• L'Été indien Festival, Arles, September
• Francs Bourgeois, Arles, July
• (solo) Maison européenne de la photographie, Paris, June
• (solo) Galerie Madé, Paris, March
• AMP Studios, London, March

2018

• Galerie Marion Vidal, Paris, June
• Jeune Création, screening, May
• Havas Gallery, Paris, February

2017

• Rue de l'Université, Paris, November
• Rue des Filles-du-Calvaire, Paris, October
• What's Up Photo Doc, Paris, April
• Hameau des Baux, Maussane, April
• (duo) Ourcq Blanc, Paris, February

2016

• (solo) Triton, Paris, November
• (solo) Issy-les-Moulineaux, France, September
• Galerie Atelier du Midi, Arles, Rencontres d'Arles, July
• (solo) Musée Dupuy, MAP Festival, Toulouse, June
• (duo) Galerie Atelier du Midi, Arles, May
• Art Rooms, Ione & Mann, London, April
• L'Avant-goût du Hameau, Maussane, April

2015

• agnès b., Paris, November
• Planches Contact Festival, Deauville, October
• Le BAL, Paris, September
• BETC, Paris, September
• Hôtel Nord-Pinus, Rencontres d'Arles, July
• Église Saint-Julien, Arles, July
• Palais de l'Archevêché, Arles, June
• (solo) Public art exhibition, Cincinnati Art Museum, USA, April
• La Manutention, Paris, April

Books

Monographs

Mirage, Simple Éditions, forthcoming March 2027
Spectral Matter, Poursuite Éditions, forthcoming November 2026
When Black Is Burned, Simple Éditions, November 2023, text by Damarice Amao
Back to Dust, Poursuite Éditions, 2023
Marguerite Bornhauser, Percevoir series, Éditions de La Martinière, 2021, texts by Flavien Berger and Simon Baker
Red Harvest, Poursuite Éditions, 2019, text by Simon Baker
8, Poursuite Éditions, 2018
Plastic Colors, Les Éditions du Lic, 2017
8, self-published, 2016
Plastic Colors, self-published, 2015, finalist for the Mack First Book Award

Group publications

Paris !, Flammarion, 2024
Exteriors: Annie Ernaux and Photography, edited by Lou Stoppard, Mack, 2024
The World Within, Hangar Éditions, Brussels, 2021, PhotoBrussels Festival 05, texts by Christian Caujolle and Delphine Dumont
Carnet de résidence du Hameau des Baux, Poursuite Éditions, 2017
Fisheye Photobook, 2017
Festival de créations photographiques de Deauville, 6th edition, Filigranes Éditions, 2015
Échappées belles, Éditions Diaphane, 2015

Awards
& Residencies

2025 - Recipient of the ADAGP creation grant and artistic research endowment
2025 - Carte blanche Van Cleef & Arpels
2025-2026 - InCadaqués residency (Photographers InResidence), Cadaqués, Spain
2024 - Winner of the call for projects "Inspiration, Creation and Disability", Cultural Olympiad, French Ministry of Culture and Paris 2024 Organising Committee
2024 - Residency at the Institut Pasteur
2024 - Carte blanche Chanel N°5
2021-2025 - Carte blanche residency at the Grand Palais, supported by Louis Roederer
2023 - Carte blanche residency for Crédit Mutuel
2022 - Selected by Rossy de Palma, guest of honour at Paris Photo
2022 - Residency at the Chapel of Saint Anthony, Naxos, Greece
2020 - Winner, Emerging Photographer of the Year, Photo London
2020 - Shortlisted, Foam Talent Call
2016 - Residency on the archaeological excavations in Arles, with the Musée départemental Arles antique, INRAP, the ENSP and the Rencontres d'Arles
2016 - Residency at Hameau des Baux, Maussane
2016 - Shortlisted, Athens Photo Festival
2015 - Plastic Colors shortlisted for the Mack First Book Award
2015 - Planches Contact festival residency, Deauville, with the Fondation Louis Roederer
2014 - Exchange programme, Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weißensee

Workshops,
Talks
Jury,
Books Launches
(Extracts)

2026 - Workshops for the Rencontres d'Arles; workshop for Venezia Photo; Rencontres d'Arles summer workshop, August; Libération round table at Fujikina, Palais Brongniart, Paris, with Harry Gruyaert and Gilles Coulon, September
2025 - Workshops for the Rencontres d'Arles; workshop at the Musée Nicéphore Niépce, Chalon-sur-Saône
2024 - Workshop in Hammamet, Tunisia; workshop for the Rencontres d'Arles
2023 - Workshops for the Rencontres d'Arles
2022 - Workshops for the Maison européenne de la photographie and the Rencontres d'Arles
2017-2022 - "Photography and Archaeology" workshops, Musée départemental Arles antique
2020 - Jury member: Bloo École diplomas, Not So Crazy Girls exhibition, Orange at Home award, MEP "Fenêtre ouverte" award
2019 - Talk at Paris Photo, Grand Palais; talk at Les Jeudis Arty, Carreau du Temple, Paris
2018 - "With the Eyes" talk, Paris Photo; "Destination Louvre" workshop for the Louvre; "Paris Secret" workshop in primary schools
2017-2019 - Photography workshops in Paris primary schools
2015 - Public mediation for the Rencontres d'Arles
2015-2021 - Book launches and signings: Offprint at the Beaux-Arts de Paris, Le BAL, Cosmos Arles, Temple Arles Books, Paris Photo, Media Museum London, Offprint London at Tate Modern, Silencio Paris

Studies

2015 - MA, École nationale supérieure de la photographie (ENSP), Arles
2014 - Exchange programme, Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weißensee
2012 - Master's degree in literature and journalism, Sorbonne (Paris IV)
2011 - Bachelor's degree in modern literature, Sorbonne (Paris IV)
2007 - Baccalauréat, literature and arts

Press
review
(Extracts)

2026 - L'Essentiel, "Des images entre rêve et réalité exposées près de Rouen", September
2025 - hube magazine, "Marguerite Bornhauser at Paris Photo 2025: a chromatic world in flux"; Le Bruit de l'art podcast, episode 36, June
2024 - Grand Palais, "Carte blanche à Marguerite Bornhauser"; Les Échos; Libération (biodiversity forum at the Centre Pompidou); L'Express (Paris ! exhibition); Fisheye (Annie Ernaux at the MEP)
2023 - Libération, "Marguerite Bornhauser, échelles de valeur"; Connaissance des Arts, "La photographie vitaminée de Marguerite Bornhauser"; Fisheye, "Retour à la poussière : les ruines cosmiques de Marguerite Bornhauser étincellent aux Rencontres d'Arles"; Fisheye, "Focus #68: Le cosmos imaginaire de Marguerite Bornhauser"; Inrap, "De Arelate aux Rencontres d'Arles : la maison de la harpiste"; Paris Art Now, "Les événements photographiques autour de Paris Photo 2023"; Vision(s) #50 podcast; Radio Anthropocène
2022 - Grand Palais, "Le chantier du Grand Palais prend des couleurs dans l'objectif de la photographe Marguerite Bornhauser"; conversation with Chris Dercon for the Grand Palais, April ; L'Œil de la photographie (Étoile Rétine, Bildhalle); Art Doc, interview
2021 - Marie Claire no. 821, "En résidence"; Arty Mag, "Marguerite Bornhauser, entre ombres et couleurs"Chasseur d'Images; Swim Magazine, interview; Le Petit Voyeur, portfolio; El País, lockdown diary
2020 - France Inter, interview; Vision(s) podcast, with Julie Vallon
2019 - Fisheye, Red Harvest portfolio; France Fine Art, radio interview; GUP #61; Konbini; Le Bonbon; Le Parisien; Maze; L'Intervalle; Polka; Pyramyd Éditions; Le Beau Bug; L'Œil de la photographie
2018 - M le magazine du Monde, interview and portfolio; Le Monde, "In Deauville, on the trail of Françoise Sagan"
2017 - Néon, Plastic Colors
2016 - Epiphanies, interview
2015 - British Journal of Photography; L'Œil de la photographie; Le Gai Savoir; La Provence; Influencia; Self Publish, Be Happy