Biographie - Maëlle Dufour

A General Work Description

Maëlle Dufour creates monumental and complex works that question the notion of progress across past, present, and future eras, as well as the impact of human activity on ecosystems. She examines traces of the belief in progress, and thinks about layers of meaning in human evolution. Recurring themes are the archeology of waste that questions the legacy we leave for future generations, the living memory of a society in decline, and the resilience of people.

Using clay, mud, blue stone, ceramics, dust, waste, lead sheets, rectangular mirrors, and bright red blown glass throughout her oeuvre, an explosion of materials appears. Sometimes her works present as monumental ruins, moon-like volcanic landscapes, or narrow watchtowers. The physical confrontation between her work and the viewer is therefore often disruptive, with the size and weight of the pieces transcending or diminishing our human scale, reminding us of the fragility of our own existence.

Via her sculptural installations, the artist explores the valuable resources of past societies – material legacies left for future generations. She purposely questions origin, memory, and history. Between appearing and disappearing, her works resonate lived experiences that are inevitably erased by time. Across borders, histories, and cultures, her varied body of work anticipates a possible hopeful future, while humanity's survival seems to lean on the rhythm of transient civilizations.

Biography

Maëlle Dufour (1994, Belgium) is a visual artist who lives and works in Brussels, Belgium. She is a laureate of HISK (Higher Institute for Fine Arts) Ghent 2022–23. She studied sculpture at ENSAV La Cambre (Brussels) and at the Finnish Academy of Fine Arts (Helsinki). Since 2014, she has taken part in numerous exhibitions in Belgium and abroad, including the Beaufort Triennial (BE), the Triennial of Public Art (BE), the Mulhouse Biennial (FR), Artagon III (FR), the Artour Biennial (BE), and Horst (BE). She has also participated in several contemporary art fairs such as Art Brussels (BE) and Ceramic Brussels (BE).

Her work is regularly presented in art institutions including Extra City (BE), Kanal – Centre Pompidou (BE), Centrale for Contemporary Art (BE), Botanique (BE), BPS22 (BE), Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles in Paris (FR), CC Strombeek (BE), Free Space for Arts (FI), Universidad de Concepción (CL), Delta (BE), Friche la Belle de Mai (FR), Les Brasseurs (BE), and ISELP (BE). She has completed residencies at Moly Sabata (FR), Alumi Startwell (NL), Shake – Nomadic Residency (TU), MACPA (BE), RAVI (BE), and MAAC (BE). In 2022, she created a permanent public artwork in Haren.

In 2022, she created a permanent artwork in Haren and is currently developing a new permanent work for the city of Mouscron. Her work is also held in several public and private collections, including FRAC Dunkerque and in the Hainaut Collection at BPS22.

Her work has received several awards and grants, including the “Sculpture Encouragement Prize, 2021” at the Institut de France, the “Fintro Prize, 2024,” the “Étincelle de Wallonie Prize, 2025,” the “Wallonia Arts Commission Prize, 2018,” and the “Macors Prize, 2021,” as well as the grants “Creation Grant, 2019 and 2021,” “A Future for Culture, 2021 and 2023, “Beurs van de Vlaamse Geemschap, 2025,” and “Vocatio, 2022.” She also received the “Prix du Hainaut 2018,” through which she published the book Construire la ruine in November 2021 with CFC éditions.