Colette Lumiere

Colette Lumiere is a Tunisian born French-American artist. Pioneer of performance and multimedia art. Her career began in the New York underground scene of the early 70s, when she was making illegal large-scale paintings on the streets and buildings. Her immersive installations, The Living Environment, which combined the functions of a private sphere with an artwork quickly gained recognition both in the art scene and in fashion and pop culture.  Colette’s legendary performances and her style became an inspiration for many artists such as Madonna, Jeff Koons, and Lady Gaga.

In her artistic practice, Colette combines performance, installation, photography, and fashion. Her work explores issues of identity and femininity, as well as critiques of the art system. Her visual language consciously draws on the aesthetics of kitsch, camp, and punk.

Throughout her career, Colette has embodied fictional characters—personas, each of which critically commented on cultural narratives and social roles. These include: Colette (until 1978), Justine (New York 1978–83), Mata Hari (Berlin 1984–86), Countess Reichenbach (Munich 1986–90), Olympia—the House of Olympia (1991–2000), Maison Lumière (2001–2007), Laboratoire Lumière (2008–2025), and People of Victory & Lumiere (2020–2025). Her self-creations anticipated contemporary concepts of branding, celebrity culture, and public identity construction by decades.

Colette has received stipends from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation and the Warhol Foundation in NY, as well as from the DAAD in Berlin; her works are in the collections of major institutions such as the Guggenheim in New York, MOCA in Los Angeles and the Ludwig Museum in Cologne.