A Celebration Of Innovation And Artistic Excellence

In the world of contemporary art, few awards carry as much prestige as the Marcel Duchamp Prize—an accolade that celebrates the creative achievements of exceptional artists whose works redefine the boundaries of artistic expression. Among the most recent nominees of this coveted honor is Xie Lei, a Chinese-born artist now based in Paris whose work has captured the attention of the international art community for his innovation and sensitivity.

Xie Lei has garnered recognition in France and internationally for his ability to create art that speaks to universal issues of memory, identity and transformation. His visionary approach aligns him with the spirit of Marcel Duchamp, the revolutionary artist whose work continues to shape the course of contemporary art. The recognition of Xie Lei with a place on the Marcel Duchamp Prize shortlist marks a significant milestone in his career and underscores the enduring relevance of his contributions to the global art landscape.

Established in partnership with the Centre Pompidou and endowed with €90,000, The Marcel Duchamp Prize is one of the most prestigious awards in the contemporary art world. Since its creation in 2000 by Gilles Fuchs–Founder and president of ADIAF–the Marcel Duchamp Prize has honored numerous artists who have gone on to become prominent figures on the international art scene. Every year the prize distinguishes one laureate among four French artists or artists living in France and working in plastic or visual arts including installation, video, painting, photography, sculpture or performance. With the support of the Marcel Duchamp Association, the Prize acknowledges the most significant artists of the French scene of their generation.

Four finalists have been nominated for the 2025 Marcel Duchamp Prize: Xie Lei, Bianca Bondi, Eva Nielsen and Lionel Sabatté. The 25th edition of the Marcel Duchamp Prize exhibition is curated by Jean-Pierre Criqui and Julia Garimorth and will be held at the Musée d’Art Moderne in Paris from 26th September, 2025 to 22nd February, 2026.

After 24 years at the Musée National d’Art Moderne, the next exhibition of The Marcel Duchamp Prize will not be held at the Centre Pompidou, which is closing for renovation. Instead, the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris will host the next exhibitions of the Marcel Duchamp Prize, from 2025 to 2029, as part of an agreement between the ADIAF, the Centre Pompidou and the Musée d’Art Moderne de Paris / Paris Musées.

The winner–selected by an international jury of institution directors, collectors and artists–will be announced on 23rd October, 2025.

Xie Lei: A Fusion of Tradition and Innovation

Xie Lei’s practice is a vibrant exploration of cultural identity, personal memory, and the way these concepts intersect in the context of a rapidly globalizing world. His ethereal paintings often draw from both Eastern and Western influences, reflecting his experience as an artist who bridges two worlds. This duality and sense of introspection merges to create artworks that invite the viewer to reflect on their own perceptions of identity and experience.

The Marcel Duchamp Prize: A Prestigious Honor

The Marcel Duchamp Prize is one of the most distinguished awards in contemporary art and honors an artist whose work has demonstrated excellence, originality, and innovation in contemporary art. It was named in tribute to Marcel Duchamp, the Dadaist whose work redefined the very concept of art in the 20th century.

Duchamp’s most famous works, such as the controversial Fountain (1917), challenged conventional notions of art by elevating everyday objects to the status of fine art. His influence on the development of conceptual art is immeasurable, and the Marcel Duchamp Prize continues to celebrate his legacy by recognizing artists whose works reflect the same spirit of experimentation, disruption, and transformation.

Xie Lei’s selection as a shortlisted artist for the 2025 Marcel Duchamp Prize places him among a distinguished group of artists who have made significant contributions to the discourse of contemporary art. The award is not only a recognition of Xie Lei’s achievements but also a testament to the ongoing evolution of art in the 21st century.

Galerie Semiose in Paris staged a solo exhibition of Lei’s dreamlike paintings of spectral visions, rendered in eerie shades of vibrant hues, from January to March 2025. The exhibition titled Mort heureuse evoked themes reminiscent of works by Jean Genet and Albert Camus. The collection of paintings have a sense of magical realism and depict androgynous figures such as Élan, Espoir, Charmeur, Chagrin, Résonance, Allusion, Protection, Possession, and Shadow. These enigmatic paintings explore the ambivalent forces shaping human relationships with an existential examination of the fine line between life and death.

I met with Xie Lei at the gallery where he gave me some insight into his artistic practice and the literary inspiration behind the paintings exhibited in Mort Heureuse, which upon observation evoke a sense of entering an after-life: “The Title Mort Heureuse in English means Happy Death is taken from an Albert Camus novel. Mort Heureuse for me is a kind of oxymoron. This is my second solo exhibition in the gallery and the first exhibition was titled Chant d’Amour after a film by Jean Genet.”

Xie Lei (born 1983 in Huainan, Anhui Province, China) is a contemporary painter who has been living and working in Paris since 2006. He graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing and went on to earned a practice-based PhD in Visual Arts from the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts and the École normale supérieure in Paris. Mort heureuse marked Xie Lei’s return to Paris after his 2024 solo exhibition Au-delà at the Fondation Louis Vuitton. Lei exhibited in Une Chambre a Soi, a group exhibition at Chateau la Coste with Bianca Bondi, who is also shortlisted for the 2025 Marcel Duchamp Prize. He is also exhibiting in Apocalypse: Hier and Demain at the Bibliotheque National de Paris until 8th June, 2025.