Research is at the heart of Perrin’s sculpture, painting and drawing practice. In the 1980s, the artist was drawn to sculpting using industrial objects and materials and testing their synergistic potential. She shifted her focus in the 1990s, investigating the moving body, its perceptiveness and culture-mediated effects concerning its various public spaces and architectural contexts. The fundamental forces of materials, light and the way both categories interact are central to her art.

Perrin has gradually created monumental, outdoor structures as well as temporary, in situ installations. Despite the changing urban contexts, she has developed her vernacular based on the experimental use of materials, their (surrounding) volumes and her inscription in a chosen territory. Her current studio practice emphasizes links between drawing and sculpting.

Perrin has received several awards and prizes throughout her career, including the Prix Culturel by Fondation Leenaards in 2015, two artist-in-residence awards by Landis & Gyr Stiftung in 2012 and 1993, and the Prix Fondation Irène-Reymond in 2000.

In 2023, she had a solo show at MAMCO Genève. Other solo shows include Kunsthaus Grenchen (Switzerland) in 2019 and the Swiss Institute in New York (2013). Her work has been curated into exhibitions at Palais de Tokyo (Paris, France), Louisiana Museum (Humlebaek, Denmark), Kunsthaus, Zürich (Switzerland), Musée d’Art Moderne, São Paulo, Brazil, and Aargauer Kunsthaus (Aarau, Switzerland). Recent installations were visible at Musée des beaux-arts du Locle (Switzerland), Centre Culturel de la Ferme-Asile (Sion, Switzerland) and Maison Clarté (Geneva, Switzerland). The following public collections have acquired Carmen Perrin’s work: Centre Pompidou, Aargauer Kunsthaus, Collection de la Ville de Paris, Hoffmann-La Roche, Basel, Migros, Julius Bär, BNP Paribas, and Fundació Joan Miró.