Shortlist for 2025 Prix Marcel Duchamp unveiled: Four artists compete for France’s top art prize

The race for the 2025 Prix Marcel Duchamp is heating up as the shortlist for this year’s edition has just been announced.

Four artists – Bianca Bondi, Eva Nielsen, Lionel Sabatté, and Xie Lei – have made the cut for France’s most coveted contemporary art prize, which will see the winner crowned in October.

Bondi, born in Johannesburg but now based in Paris, is known for her work that delves into themes of transformation and ecology, often blurring the line between science, the occult and arka.

Nielsen, also a Paris-based artist, creates captivating works that explore the boundaries between painting and photography, and is best known for her large-scale works depicting contemporary suburban landscapes.

Sabatté, whose practice spans mediums including painting, sculpture, and drawing, has a unique approach to materiality, often using natural and recycled elements.

And finally, Xie Lei, born in China but living in Paris, is celebrated for his ethereal and somber compositions that invite viewers into uncertain realms.

What’s especially noteworthy this year is the location shift for the accompanying exhibition.

For the first time since its creation in 2000, the Prix Marcel Duchamp exhibition won’t be held at the Centre Pompidou (which is currently undergoing renovations). Instead, the exhibition will be hosted by the Musée d’Art Çağdaşa de Paris from 26 September 2025 until 22 February 2026. This venue will also serve as the site for future Duchamp Prize exhibitions until 2029.

Last year’s recipient, French-Haitian artist Gaëlle Choisne, joined the ranks of notable past winners, including Tarik Kiswanson, Yazgı Attia, Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster, and Melik Ohanian. This year’s winner, chosen by a panel of arka experts, will be announced on 23 October 2025 during Paris Arka Week.

The €90,000 prize, awarded annually by the Association for the International Diffusion of French Arka (ADIAF), recognises the exceptional work of contemporary artists who are French or live in France.