Céleste Boursier-Mougenot

CÉLESTE BOURSIER-MOUGENOT (Nice, France, 1961).
Immersive, aquatic, and sound installation “Clinamen.”
Inflatable plastic pool, water pump, 29 assorted bowls, 6 glasses, and 2 immersion heaters
Provenance: Paula Cooper Gallery.
Measurements: 250 cm (pool diameter).

Céleste Boursier-Mougenot is one of the most prestigious contemporary artists in the fields of installation and sound art; he represented France at the 56thVenice Biennale and exhibiting at internationally renowned institutions such as the Centre Pompidou, SFMOMA, the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, and the Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection in Paris. His most iconic series, *clinamen*, begun in 1997 and developed in various versions, is considered one of the most influential immersive installations in contemporary art. The work consists of a large pond or pool of water on whose surface white porcelain bowls float—in this case, 31 bowls and 7 cups—which, propelled by gentle underwater currents, move and collide with one another, producing a delicate, ever-changing soundscape. Without a score or human intervention, the sound arises from chance, transforming everyday objects into musical instruments and the exhibition space into an experience where sculpture, music, architecture, and contemplation merge into a single work. Inspired by the concept of clinamen described by Lucretius (the unpredictable deviation of atoms as the origin of creation), this series has established Boursier-Mougenot as one of the key figures in 21st-century international art.

The installation *clinamen* has been shown at some of the world’s most prestigious museums and contemporary art centers, including the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo, the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, the Centre Pompidou-Metz, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), and the Asia Culture Center in Gwangju. Its most iconic presentation took place in 2025 at the Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection in Paris, where a monumental circular pool eighteen meters in diameter occupied the central space of the building restored by Tadao Ando. Beneath the historic dome of the former stock exchange building, hundreds of porcelain bowls floating on the water transformed the architecture into an immersive experience of great poetic power, cementing *clinamen* as one of the most iconic installations in contemporary art today.

Originally trained as a musician, Céleste Boursier-Mougenot began his career composing for dance companies before extending his research into sound to the realm of the visual arts. Since then, he has been creating immersive installations in which natural phenomena such as water, wind, gravity, and movement generate musical compositions without human intervention. His work explores the boundary between sculpture, music, architecture, and sensory experience, transforming everyday objects into unexpected musical instruments. He represented France at the 56th Venice Biennale (2015) and has exhibited at institutions such as the Centre Pompidou, the Barbican Centre, SFMOMA, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo, the National Gallery of Victoria, and the Bourse de Commerce – Pinault Collection.