Thierry Oussou

Born in Benin, Thierry Oussou lives and works between Amsterdam (NL) and Benin. He studied at the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam.

As a visual and conceptual artist, his practice incorporates a diversity of media and shows great interest in professions that are marginalized and overlooked. From cotton workers to public transport drivers, his visual investigation aims to emphasize, or rather turn visible the different terms of labour that exist, and how they affect the society we live in. 

In 2023, he received the Royal Award for Modern Painting from His Majesty King Willem-Alexander. The same year, he was part of Brazil’s contribution to the 18th International Architecture Biennale of Venice, which was awarded the Golden Lion for Best National Participation.

Recent exhibitions include the solo show Growing Poetics at Kasteel Wijlre (2024), Impossible Is Nothing at Centraal Museum, Utrecht (2023), the British Textile Biennial (2023), the 35th Ljubljana Biennial (2023), Survival Kit Festival in Riga (2023), Aichi Triennale (2022), Unlocked/Reconnected at the Oude Kerk, Amsterdam (2020), Impossible Is Nothing at Art Exchange, Essex (2019), the 21st Videobrasil Biennial (São Paulo, 2019), and the 10th Berlin Biennale (2018).