Abdessemed is a conceptual artist who works in a range of media including drawing, video, photography, performance, and sculpture, and collaborates with creators from many fields, from poetry to dance and architecture. He manipulates familiar materials and images to create provocative and often violent works influenced by his exposure to the Gulf War and its global impact. Drawing on personal, political, and historical narratives, the artist believes that his art “is a confrontation that leads to a break with the norm and is accompanied by extreme anger,” but that his work is simultaneously “…actually positive. The world is violent – not me". Abdessemed’s work has been presented at four Venice Biennales (2003, 2007, 2011, 2015), where he received the Benesse Prize in 2007. He has been the subject of solo exhibitions at major institutions including the Centre Georges Pompidou, the San Francisco Art Institute, MoMA PS1, and the Musée d’art moderne et contemporain in Geneva. His work is held in the permanent collections of the Musée d’art moderne de la Ville de Paris, the Musée national d’art moderne Georges-Pompidou, Paris, the Collection Budi Tek, Shanghai, and the Fondation François Pinault, Venice, among others.

Founded in 1926 by Christian Zervos at 14, rue du Dragon in the heart of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, Cahiers d’Art encompasses a publishing house, a gallery, and a revue. The Cahiers d’Art Revue was entirely unique when it was introduced, and it still is: a revue of contemporary art defined by its combination of striking typography and layout, abundant photography, and juxtaposition of ancient and modern art. Between the 1920s and the mid-1970s, Cahiers d’Art published ninety-seven issues of the Revue and more than fifty books on fine art and architecture, as well as the thirty-three volume catalogue raisonné of Pablo Picasso. After its acquisition and relaunch in 2012 by Staffan Ahrenberg, an editorial board comprised of Sam Keller, Hans Ulrich Obrist, Isabela Mora, and Staffan Ahrenberg was created. Cahiers d’Art has since published several new Revues and art books devoted to Ellsworth Kelly, Rosemarie Trockel, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Alexander Calder, Pablo Picasso, Thomas Schütte, Gabriel Orozco, Joan Miró, Lucas Arruda, Ai Weiwei, Arthur Jafa, Frank Gehry, Christo, and others. From the 1920s till today, Cahiers d’Art has maintained a gallery, exhibiting the artists it publishes. Cahiers d’Art continues to fulfill its mission to be the cultural bridge between the avant-garde of Picasso, Duchamp, and Le Corbusier, and the leading artists and architects of our time.