Born 1957 in Paris, based in Paris.

Nominated for the 2003 Marcel Duchamp Prize, and awarded the Niépce Prize, also in 2003. Couturier is one of France's representative photographers, known in particular for his photographs of urban architecture, including scenes inside auto plants, and big-city residential development sites. These works capture changes in society that are occurring on a global scale, and dynamically represent the way that our world is in flux. For that reason, Couturier's works are interesting from a documentary or sociological perspective as well as in the context of architecture or art. The photographs in his Melting Point series are created by layering a number of visual elements, and it is this series that most directly reflects the hybrid nature of contemporary society. These images are artificial, but convey an odd sense of reality, catching, then sidestepping the viewer's sight, hinting at the complex situation of contemporary society, where a variety of elements are constantly joining together and splitting apart.