Born in 1967 in Arras.
Lives and works in Paris.
Stéphane Calais studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Nîmes (1987–1992) and then at the Institut des Hautes Études en Arts Plastiques in Paris (1992–1993). Considered one of the most important French artists of his generation, Stéphane Calais was nominated for the Fondation Ricard Prize in 2007 and for the Marcel Duchamp Prize in 2008.
His works are included in major museum collections, such as the Musée national d’Art moderne, as well as in numerous private collections. He has carried out numerous projects in France and abroad, both in galleries and through private commissions, including the monumental murals he was invited to create in 2012 for the Tour Havas in Puteaux.
Solo exhibitions of his work have been held at Galerie Zieher Smith & Horton (New York), Galerie Aliceday (Brussels), Centre d’art Passerelle (Brest), CCC (Tours), Espace Claude Berri (Paris), and Crédac (Ivry-sur-Seine). His works have also been featured in numerous group exhibitions, including Doré & Friends at the Musée d’Art moderne et contemporain de Strasbourg (2014), La vie des formes at Les Abattoirs, Toulouse (2012), Paris-Delhi-Bombay at the Centre Pompidou, Paris (2011), In the Studio at Kunsthalle Athena, Athens (2013), Le Centre Pompidou at the Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg (2010), and La Force de l’art at the Grand Palais, Paris (2009).
Since 2008, he has taught at the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam and, since 2019, he has been head of a studio at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Primarily a painter, his work explores forms and the ways in which they can be played with.