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Bernar Venet

"An artist is an explorer in the domain of the arts."

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Notes of biography

Bernar Venet was born in Château-Arnoux-Saint-Auban (Alpes de Hautes Provence, France) in 1941. He studied in Nice and his first personal exhibition is organized in 1964. In 1963, he paints black canvases of tar, meaning «the black as the refusal of the easy communication». Venet composes cartoons monochrome reliefs. He becomes friend with the upholders of the "New Realism" (Arman, Cesar, Hains and Villeglé), with whom he participates in different exhibitions.
He settles down in New York in 1966. The artist creates abstract works which refer to the language and to the mathematical functions. In 1967, Venet develops his abstract work and creates "non visual" works on tapes.
He wishes, and makes from 1970 till 1976, a break in his work; Back to Paris, he teaches to La Sorbonne and gives conferences. He comes back to the art in 1976 and shows canvases and sculptures on the line subject. He creates, in 1979, his first sculptures of Bows and Angles and sets up, in 1983, the "basic structure of his indefinite lines". His success is global; he receives numerous state commissions and will set his monumental sculptures in the heart of numerous cities which will welcome his work (Cologne, Geneva, Nice, etc.).
He begins, in 1991, the series of reliefs consisted of arrows, arbitrary and simultaneous directions. In 2000, Bernar Venet creates "murals"; these mathematical equations borrowed from scientific works are drawn in black on uniform capital of lively colours, sometimes associated to a figure. By these "signs", the artist expresses the desire «to keep at a distance of the agreed field of the plastic arts».
In 2003, his Bows are set in the Jardin des Tuileries (Paris).
Bernar Venet lives and works in New York and in the South of France. Feeling far from the french art conventions he considers "rehearsing", he is fascinated by the American formalism and, especially, Marcel Duchamp. From 1970, he is considered as one of the leaders of the conceptual art.

Artists on display

The art and the artists display: proclamations, galleries, museums, personal or collective exhibitions. On walls or in shop windows, wise or rebels, posters warn, argue, show. Some were specially conceived by an artist for such or such event, other, colder, have only the letter.

Some were created in lithographic technic, most are simple offset reproductions. They are many those who like collecting these rectangles of paper, monochrome or in games of colours, in matt paper or brilliant, with many words or almost dumb.

We are happy also to be able to greet, by this pages, mythical galleries as those of Denise René, Louis Carré, Claude Bernard, Berheim Jeune, Maeght, Pierre Loeb and others.

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Complete work(s)

Complete work(s)
*« The five years of Bernar Venet », Donald Karshan, New York Cultural Center & F. Dickinson Uni, New York, 1971 All the complete works

Bibliographic track and more

To read about the artist :
  • « Bernar Venet », C. Millet, Ed. du Chêne, Paris, 1974
  • « La négation du style », B. Huin, Musée dép. des Vosges, Epinal, 1985
  • « Venet », J. Van Der Marck, Ed. de la Différence, 1988
  • « Noir, noir et noir, Photographies 1963-1990 », J.-L.Schefer, Ed. Marval, 1991
  • « A Wonderful life : 1974-1994 », Alain Coulange, Ed. Galilée, 1996
  • « Bernar Venet », Pierre Arnauld, Giampaolo Prearo Ed., 2000
  • « B. Venet », Pierre Arnaud et Achille Bonito Oliva, Ed. Marval, 2001
  • « Bernar Venet », Thierry Lenain, coll Monographies, Ed. Gallimard, 2007
  • « Le monde de Bernar Venet », T. Davila, A. Mousseigne, Ed. Lienart, 2011
  • « Bernar Venet poétique ? », collectif, Jean Boite Ed., 2017
To read from the artist :
  • « La ligne et sa définition », In « Art Press » n°54 (décembre)
  • « Bernar Venet : 1 pour 1 », entretiens, J.-P. Peynot, Ed. Archibooks, 2008
Website :
www.bernarvenet.com/

More :


Art movements

+ CONCEPTUAL ART / 1965-1980 / Robert Barry, Mel Bochner, Ian Hamilton Finlay, Hanne Darboven, Ilya Kabakov, etc.
+ SCHOOL OF NICE / 1965-1975 / Jean-Claude Farhi, Robert Filliou, Roland Flexner, Serge III, Pierre Pinoncelli, etc.
All art movements

See & discover

Beyond works currently in stock, it seemed to me useful to combine business with pleasure by letting you discover others works by artists in my gallery. These artworks, now sold or removed from our website, have been in our stock in the past.

These pages will undoubtedly make it possible for some of you to associate an image with its title or the other way round, for others it will be a good time to discover more on such and such artist. For the sake of confidentiality – the pieces being no longer available – we won't display neither their numbering or their price. For whatever reason, make sure to visit this amazing art database with to date 6441 online works just for your pleasure! Michelle Champetier

See & discover