Biography – Miguel Chevalier

1959

Miguel Chevalier was born in Mexico City, where his French father was director of the Institut Français for Latin America, a French cultural and educational centre. 

Black-and-white self-portrait by Miguel Chevalier
Self-Portrait – Miguel Chevalier
1968–1976

Lives in Madrid, where his father is the director of the Casa de Velázquez, a centre for artists and scholars. 

1978–1983

Studying fine art, archaeology and design at the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts and the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs in Paris. 

1982

Creates his first video installation Sweet Dream

Digital artwork ‘Sweet Dream’ featuring a dark green-blue glow, an orange circle in the top right-hand corner and a wolf walking along a purple path
Sweet Dream – Miguel Chevalier
1982–1983

At night, he gains access to the powerful computers at the Centre national de la recherche scientifique, which he uses to create his first entirely digital works. 

1983–1984

During his time at the Pratt Institute and the School of Visual Arts in New York City, he began working with computers equipped with drawing software for the first time. 

1985

Buys his first personal computer, an Amiga 1000. 

1988

Creates Performance, his first monumental installation, projected onto the façade of the Panthéon in Paris. For him, exhibiting art in public spaces becomes a central part of his body of work. 

1993–1994

In Kyoto, he is developing works exploring the connection between nature and the man-made, inspired by Japan’s visual culture. 

1996

Creates his first interactive works, The Big Glass/Liquid Nature and Digital Thinking

Miguel Chevalier stands as a silhouette next to his work *Liquid Nature*
Liquid Nature – Miguel Chevalier
1997

Begins working with the software developer Claude Micheli (1957). 

2000

He set up his studio, La Fabrika, in Ivry-sur-Seine, near Paris.

2004

Develops his first digital herbarium, which is normally a collection of dried and pressed plants. This forms the basis for his first interactive virtual garden. 

Miguel Chevalier’s conservatory
Greenhouse Effect – Miguel Chevalier
2005

He is collaborating with Nicolas Gaudelet (1981), a specialist in IT solutions, who is assisting him in the creation of his artworks. 

2007

Begins a collaboration with the software developer Cyrille Henry (1977). 

2008

Creates his first 3D-printed sculptures.

2013

For the FILUX festival, an installation is on display on the façade of the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City. 

2018

Presents his installation Origin of the World Bubble as part of the Lumière Festival at Oxford Circus in London. 

A colourful artwork by Miguel Chevalier featuring organic shapes and shades of black and purple
Origin of the World – Miguel Chevalier
2022

Is appointed Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) by the French government. 

2023

Using artificial intelligence in the workplace for the first time Meta-Nature AI, which is being presented for the first time in Seoul.

A colourful artwork by Miguel Chevalier, featuring a visitor looking at it
Meta-Nature AI – Miguel Chevalier
2025–2026

Digital by Nature – the art of Miguel Chevalier is his largest retrospective exhibition to date in Europe, featuring almost 120 works. The exhibition was first shown at the Kunsthalle München and is now on display in an adapted version at Museum de Fundatie in Zwolle. In December 2026, the exhibition will be extended to the museum’s outdoor space for fourteen days, featuring a projection of Pixel Waves onto the façade. This marks the first time that Chevalier’s work has been displayed both inside and outside a museum. 

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