Born in 1994 in France, Clémence Gbonon lives and works in Paris. She studied at the Beaux-Arts de Paris and the Cooper Union in New York, graduating from the Beaux-Arts in 2024. Since 2025, she has been an artist-in-residence at POUSH. Her work has been presented in numerous exhibitions in Paris, including at Galerie Mennour as part of the second edition of the Mennour Emergence program, and in Félicités 2024 at the Palais des Beaux-Arts de Paris. Internationally, her work has been shown at Parfümerie in Frankfurt (Germany), FF Projects in Lagos (Nigeria), and both the Cooper Union and Canada Gallery in New York (United States).
Winner of both the Sarr Prize and the Maurice Colin-Lefranc Prize, Clémence Gbonon will participate in a group exhibition at MOCO and the 69th Salon de Montrouge in 2026.
“My work as a painter reveals a psychic space marked by conflict, transformation, and a quest for self-determination. Between figuration and abstraction, painting allows me to reach a powerful in-between space, where forms emerge or disappear. Using a visual vocabulary drawn from the home and fire, I offer dreamlike visions of a mind in search of itself.”
— Clémence Gbonon
Created in 2021 in partnership with the Beaux-Arts de Paris by Catherine and Mamadou-Abou Sarr, French entrepreneurs and contemporary art collectors based in the United States, the Prix Sarr – Villa Albertine aims to support students and recent graduates in developing their professional careers by offering them international exposure and resources.
Previous laureates include Pierre Alexandre Savriacouty (2021, Beaux-Arts graduate 2022), Abdelhak Benallou (2022, fifth-year student), and Assia Dramé-Azzeazy (2023).
