Benoît Maire (b. 1978, Pessac, France) is a contemporary artist whose practice spans painting, sculpture, film, publishing, and performance. He is also the co-founder of Ker-Xavier, a furniture publishing house and visual design studio. Maire studied philosophy at the Sorbonne (Université Paris I), where he earned an advanced degree, and holds a DNSEP from the Villa Arson in Nice. In 2005–2006 he attended the Pavillon residency at the Palais de Tokyo in Paris. He was joint laureate of the Prix Fondation d’Entreprise Ricard in 2010, received the Solo Prize at Art Brussels in 2017, and was an artist-in-residence at the Villa Medici, Rome, in 2021–2022.
His work consistently bridges art and philosophy, transforming theoretical reflection into an artistic form in its own right. Referencing history, art history, philosophy, psychoanalysis, mathematics, and mythology, his practice engages with what he calls the “insurmountable conflict between saying and seeing.” Since 2008, Maire has been writing an aesthetics manual in which images, objects, and texts unfold as attempts to articulate issues in contemporary aesthetics. Published as an artist’s book, this work is held in several specialized libraries, and in 2024 Maire began developing it into a doctoral project at the Sorbonne’s School of the Arts (Université Paris I).
His oeuvre spans diverse media, yet his paintings in particular have explored recurring motifs, notably the cloud series (2012–2022). He has presented solo exhibitions in France and internationally (Bordeaux, Paris, Brussels, London, Vancouver, San Francisco, Mexico City, New York), and his works are included in prestigious public and private collections such as the Centre Georges Pompidou (Paris), Vancouver Art Gallery, Villa Medici (Rome), Mudac (Lausanne), Nouveau Musée National de Monaco, FRAC Île-de-France (Paris), FRAC Aquitaine (Bordeaux), FRAC Franche-Comté (Besançon), FNAC Fonds National d’Art Contemporain (Paris), Kadist Foundation (Paris), David Roberts Foundation (London), Nomas Foundation (Rome), Giuliani Foundation (Rome), Fondation Francès (Senlis), MAC/VAL Musée d’Art Contemporain du Val-de-Marne (Vitry-sur-Seine), and Capc Musée d’Art Contemporain (Bordeaux).
Since 2016, Maire has also been producing functional art pieces under Ker-Xavier. Co-signed with Marie Corbin, these works often appear in scenographies for exhibitions he curates. His functional art works reflect his ongoing dialogue between painting and sculpture: chairs, benches, tables, stools, and pedestals, typically crafted from wood and painted with delicate chromatic washes, alongside aluminum lamps and desks marked by a minimal yet ornamental organic line. His Médicis lamp entered the collections of the Mobilier National, Paris, in 2024.
Since 2025, Spazio Nobile has represented the functional art practice of Benoît Maire.
