BIOGRAPHY
1941
Born on April 20 at Chateau-Arnoux-Saint-Auban in the Alpes of Haute-Provence.
His father, Jean-Marie Venet, a schoolteacher and chemist, dies at the age of
40, leaving his widow Adeline Gilly in charge of their four sons, of which Bernar
is the youngest.
1947-1957
School at Chateau-Arnoux-Saint-Auban. As a boy, Bernar Venet suffers from asthma,
and is forced to spend long spells at spas and a aerium at Saint Raphaël.
During this young age he was involved with religion, and aspired to become a
missionary.
With the encouragement of a local artist, he is drawing and painting extensively
by the time he is ten.
At age eleven, Bernar is invited to exhibit in the Salon du Peinture Péchinay
in Paris.
1958
Fails the entrance exams for the Decorative Arts School in Nice. Studies for
one year at the municipal art school of the city, the Villa Thioie.
There while defending Picasso's work to fellow students, shocks the Director,
and is suspended for a week.
1959
Works as a stage designer for the Nice City Opera. Period of highly stylised
paintings described by himself as 'symbolic'.
1961
In February, he joins the army, andserves for 22 month. Initially he is assigned
to the army reception center in Tarascon.
There, an attic is put at his disposal, which he converts into a studio. Initially,
Venet's paintings are gestural, and executed with his feet.
Quickly they develop into black monochromes made of tar. In some cases,
he works a surface without leaving trace of his action. The blank surface nevertheless
became a work. These he called 'fetishist works'.
1963
Returns to Nice; establishes a studio in the old quarter; on rue Pairolière.
Further development of the far paintings and detailed photographs of gravel
and coal piles.
Other experimental photographic works. His first sculpture. Coal Pile has no
specific dimensions. The work is characterised by extremely restrained means.
Towards the end of the year, does the first cardboard reliefs, that he describes
as 'industrial paintings'.
Becomes friendly with Arman as well as with some New Realists in Paris (César,
Hains, Villegié), who offer to share exhibitions with him.
1964
Venet participates in the Salon Comparaisons at the Museum of Modern Art, Paris.
He exhibits alongside the New Realist and Pop Artists, despite the intentionally
divergent nature of his cardboard reliefs.
1966
His first trip to New York in April and May.
Returns to Nice. Invited to participate in the Impact 1, exhibition at the Céret
Museum, France; sends a blueprint for a tube.
Become aware of the objective aspect of blueprints, and their semantic characteristics.
Set to work intently on diagrams, thus creating his first mono-semi-otic works.
Creates the project for a ballet to be danced on a vertical plane.
In December, Venet decides to permanently settle in New York. Initially lives
in Arman's studio, 84 Walker Street, formerly Tinguely's studio.
1967
Resides at the Chelsea Hotel, his conceptual work develops along logical lines.
Meets Minimalist artists at the Dwan Gallery.
Frequents the Mathematics and Physics Departments at Columbia University and
befriends two researchers. Jack Ullmann and Martin Krieger.
He produces the 'non visual' works on magnetic tape. His focus in on content,
not the visual characteristics of artworks.
Sets up a four-year program, intending to stop all artistic production with
it's completion.
1968
Settles into a loft in Soho, New York.
Venet collaborates with the scientists from Columbia University, to stage a
performance at the Judson Church Theatre in Soho, New York.
Work first exhibited in the USA and Europe.
Two conceptual exhibitions at the Wide White Space Gallery, along with Beuys
and Broodthaers, at the Dülsseldorf Kunsthalle.
Works are bought by the Krefeld Museum, who offers to stage his first museum
exhibition.
The Museum of Modern Art, New York, acquires a Venet piece.
Meats Daniel Templon, who becomes his dealer in Paris at his gallery on rue
Bonaparte.
Participates in the exhibition 'Conception Konzeption' in Leverkusen, Germany.
Moves to a loft on Broadway, in Soho. Meets Ella Bogval whom he marries in 1971,
and they separate in 1982.
1969-1970
Frequently travels and lectures throughout Europe, The United States, and Japan.
Bernar Venet decides for theoretical reasons to cease his artistique activities.
Retrospective at the Krefeld Museum Haus Lange, Germany.
1971
Retrospectives at the New York Cultural Center, New York.
Publication of the Catalogue raisonné of his conceptual work on the occasion
of the exhibit at the New York Cultural Center.
Birth of his sons Stephane and Alexandre.
1972-1973
Return to Paris.
Period of reflection: Venet writes about Conceptual Art and his own work.
His purpose is to correct commentary that he judges to be erroneous, and to
elucidate and detail the specific nature and originality of his efforts.
1974-1975
Teaches 'Art and Art Theory' at the Sorbonne, Paris.
Frequent lectures in France, England, Italy, Poland and Belgium.
Monograph by Catherine Millet published by Editions du Chene, France and Edizioni
Prearo, Italy.
Film produced by Jean-Pierre Mirouze on Bernar Venet: CEuvre terminée
ceuvre interminable.
Exhibit of his conceptual works at the Institute of Contemporary Art, London.
Represents France a the XIII Sao Paulo Biennale, Brazil, with Gottfried Honegger
and Francois Morellet.
1976
Returns to New York in January. Moves to West Broadway and becomes compelled
to again produce art.
The first canvases from the series Angles and Arcs, are a group of extremely
restrained paintings of elementary geometrical figures.
Retrospective of his conceptual works at La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art,
La Jolla, California.
1977
Exhibits at Documenta VI, Kassel, Germany. Exhibitions of recent work at the
Musée d'Art Modern in Saint Etienne, Paris.
1978
Participates in the exhibit From Nature to Art. From Art to Nature,
at the Venice Biennale, Italy.
Canvases: Chords subtending Arcs.
1979
Begins the series of wood reliefs Arcs, Angles, Diagonals, and creates the first
Indeterminate Line.
Starts work on steel sculptures composed of two arcs. Concept for a monumental
arc on a highway.
Receives a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts.
Develops the series of wood reliefs Indeterminate lines.
1982
Moves to a loft on Canal Street, across from the Hudson River.
1983
First macquettes for steel sculptures of indeterminate lines.
Seth Schneidman produces the film Bernar Venet 1985 in New York.
Projects for monumental sculptures.
1984
November: starts creating his sculptures at Atelier Marioni, a foundry in the
Vosges region of France.
First exhibition of Indeterminate Lines, (floor/wall) sculptures at Galerie
Templon, Paris.
First planes for, and photocollages of The Major 185.4° Arc.
1985
Meets Diane Segard, whom he marries in 1996.
1986
Public commissions in Epinal, France: Nice, France; Austin, Texas; and Norfolk,
Virginia.
These works are fabricated at Francois Labbe's foundry in Nice.
1987
For the 750th anniversary of Berlin, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs
and Air France, present the city with Arc of 124.5°. This sculpture measures
70 x 140 feet.
1988
Jean-Louis Martinoty asks Bernar Venet to stage his ballet Graduation, (conceived
in 1966), at the Paris Opera. The Artist is the author of the music, choreography,
set designs and costumes.
Receives the Design Award for his sculpture in Norfolk, Virginia. Exhibition
of photographs (1961-1988) at Galerie Michèle Chomette, Paris.
The E.P.A.D. commissions the monumental Two Indeterminate Lines for the new
La Défense business center on the edge of Paris.
Installation of Arc of 115.5° for Telic-Alcatei, Strasbourg.
Publication of a substantial monograph Venet by Jan van der Marck; Editions
de la Différence, Paris.
1989
Awarded the Grand Prix des Arts de la Ville des Paris, by Jacques Chirac, Mayor
of Paris.
A series of new projects for steel reliefs called Possibility of Indeterminacy.
Performance of L'intervention de 1'artiste sur la Ligne à vif, November
23, at Galerie Templon, Paris.
Installs Two Arcs of 197.5° in Belley, France.
Aquisition of Le Muy, in the Var region, a factory where he installs his works
and collection. He lives and works there in the summer month.
1990
Inauguration of the monumental sculpture Indeterminate Line at Place de Bordeaux,
Strasbourg, France.
First furniture exhibition at Galerie Mostra, Paris, and then Galerie Eric Van
de Weghe in Brussels.
Creates first macquettes and large scale versions of Random Combinations of
Indeterminate lines.
1991
Creates several musical compositions including Sound and Resonance at the Studio
Miraval, Var, France.
Release of two compact discs on the Circe-Paris label, Gravier/Goudron, 1963,
and Acier Roule E 24.2. 1990.
Executes a series of new heavy, torch-cut steel furniture.
Noir-Noir et Noir, a book on Bernar Venets photographic work from 1961 to 1991,
is published by Editions Marval, Paris. Text: Jean-Louis Schefer
Completes Le Rocher des Trois Croix, (joint homage to Giotto, Grünewald
und El Greco) installed alop the mountain Roquebrune-sur-Argens, in the Var
region of France.
Filming begins for Bernar Venet, Lines, by Thierry Spitzer and Jean-Marie del
Moral.
1992
Bernar Venet records the sounds of the Air France Concorde engine, for the musical
composition Wall of Sound. He shoots the film Acier Roule XC-10 at the Marioni-Vosges
atelier.
Travels to Japan for the inauguration of the sculpture at Adachi-ku, Tokyo.
Starts a series of steel reliefs composed of arrows, Arbirary and Simultaneous
Directions.
Solo exhibition at the Person's Weekend Museum, Tokyo.
Participates in the exhibition Manifeste at the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris.
1993
Invited to participate in the artist's film festival in Montreal for his film
Rolled Steel XC-10.
Retrospective exhibition at the Musée d'Art Moderne et d'Art Contemporain
in Nice, France, which travels to the Wilhelm-Hack-Museum in Ludwigshafen, Germany.
1994
From May through Juli, Mr. Jacques Chirac, then the Mayor of Paris, invites
Venet to present twelve sculptures from his Indeterminate lines series on the
Champ de Mars.
Works on the first sculptures Barres droites.
Publication of the monograph Bernar Venet, text by Carter Ratcliff,
Abbeville Press, New York; Cercle d'Art, Paris.
1995
In the spring, travels to San Francisco for the inauguration of his monumental
sculpture Indeterminate line, at the Runnymeade Sculpture Farm.
In May, he inaugurates in Kowloon, Hong Kong, at the Museum of Modern Art, the
first exhibition of the world tour of the works presented in 1994 at Champs
de Mars.
In June, he is the first artist to inaugurate the new Museum of Art in Shanghai.
A sojourn to Graphicstudio -Tampa, Florida, an edition of large monoprints realised
with tar and a steam roller.
He develops his new work on the theme of the straight line - Accident Pieces.
New reliefs executed in steel with an acetylene torch - Indeterminate Area.
1996
Invited as a 'Master in Residence' at the Atlantic Center for the Arts, in Florida.
Is awarded the honor of Commandeur dans 1'ordre des Arts et Lettres by the Minister
of Culture in France.
Thierry Spitzer films an installation of Accident - the new works composed of
straight lines, which are also exposed at the Galerie Karsten Greve in Paris,
and in July at the Espace Fortant de France at Sète.
From May through July, the city of Brussels invites Venet to exhibit ten large
sculptures from the Indeterminate lines series on Avenue Franklyn Roosevelt.
1997
Moves to a studio in Chelsea, New York City.
Begins a new series of sculpture titled Four Arcs and Five Arcs.
Designs a museum complex, for an exhibition in Musee d'Art Concret, in Mouans-Satoux,
France.
Becomes a Member of the European Academy of Sciences and Arts in Salzburg, Austria.
1998
Travels to China. Is invited by the
Mayor of Shanghai to participate in the Shanghai International Sculpture Symposium.
Executes large scale Four Arcs sculptures, and intensively develops Indeterminate
Area reliefs during the summer in Le Muy.
1999
The third and definitive version of the film, Tarmacadam, (1963), is realised
with the help of Arkadin Productions for the exhibition Bernar Venet (1961 -
63),
at the Musée d'Art Moderne et Contemporain, Geneva. Black and white.
3 minutes 20 sec.
Installation of a public sculpture in the City of Cologne, Germany, in honour
of the G-8 Summit.
Publication of his poetry Apoetiques 1967-1998, by the
Musée d'Art Moderne et Contemporain, Geneva.
Editions Les Cahiers Intempestifs publishes a monograph about the early work
(1961-1970), by Robert Morgan.
Public commissions in for the new university in Geneva.
2000
Develops a new series of wall paintings called 'Major Equations', which are
exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia and Sao Paulo,
and at the Centre of Contemporary Art Georges Pompidou, in Cajarc, as well as
MAMCO in Geneva.
Public commission for the City of Bergen, Norway.
A year of important publications:
- Bernard Venet 1961-70 (editions des Cahiers Intempestifs) A monograph about
the young artist by Robert Morgan
- Sursaturation (editions du Centre d'Art Contemporain Georges Pompidou de Cajarc)
An original work about reflections on the possibilities of literature
- Bernard Venet - Sculptures & Reliefs (editions Prearo, Milan) Written
by Arnauld Pierre
-
Furniture, Text: Claude Lorent. All the furniture in steel designed by the artist
since 1968 (editions du MAMCO a Geneve)
- La Conversion du Regard (editions du MAMCO de Genève). The texts and
interviews from 1975-
2000
- Global Diagonals, a catalogue concerning a humanistic, artistic and technological
project with straight lines (300 feet each) virtually connecting the five continents.
2001
Exhibition of the new paintings on canvas at the gallery Jerome de Noirmont,
Paris
Inauguration of the Chapelle Saint Jean in Châteaux-Arnoux. The stained
glass windows and all the furniture is designed by Bernar Venet.
The Furniture is exhibited at SM'ART (Salon du mobilier et de I'object design)
at the Carroussel du Louvre in Paris.
Exhibition of the furnitures at the RabouanMoussion Gallery in Paris, Fall-Winter
Publication of Furnitures, Assouline Publishing, Paris, New York.