Boltanski is a self-taught artist: he left school and formal education at an early age and started painting large figurative works when he was 13. He went on to producing installations and films that were shown in 1968 in his first exhibition entitled "La Vie Impossible" at the Ranelagh movie theater in Paris.

1969 marked a turning point when he produced a nine-page booklet entitled « recherche et présentation de tout ce qui reste de mon enfance ». In this first autobiographical experience he came to the conclusion that childhood is the first thing that dies in us. His approach was based on archeological techniques and placed his work，as Harald Szeeman pointed out，in the realm of individual mythology.

Through the use of documents that did not pertain to him，the work became an autobiography of possibilities and imagination，a kind of individual collective memory. Boltanski's approach stems from the observation that every instant of our lives is immediately transformed into a past that is as definitive as death.

In the 1980's he broadened the scope of his work，moving from personal to collective destinies，in the context of the 20th century and the conflicts of that period. He took an interest in the concepts of guilt ("Reserve: Detective" series) and destiny ("The Missing House"); he revisited classical themes，such as Vanities ("Archive Dead Swiss"). Although his work has involved the most variegated media: photography，sculpture，collage，video and sound，he claims his place in tradition and has always called himself a "painter".

Through his work，exhibited in most of the world's great museums，his joint productions in musical theater and opera，his ephemeral installations of more than 20 years，Boltanski has used sensitive means in an attempt to raise existential issues with his viewers.