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, jhe 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 Varghese: Work completed work 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 the intervention of 1 ' artist on the live line, 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 1. Accident Pieces.
New reliefs executed in steel with an acetylene torch 1. 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 1. 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
Museum of Modern and contemporary Art, 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
Supersaturation (editions of the 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.
Selected Solo Exhibitions
1964
Paris (F) Galerie Ursula Girardon
1966
Nice (F) Galerie Jacques Matarasso
1968
New York (USA) Judson Church Theater: Relativity's Track (performance)
1969
Newark NJ (USA) Newark Collage of Engineering
1970
New York (USA) O.K. Harris Gallery
Krefeld (D) Museum Haus Lange Hamburg (D) o Kunsthaus
Milano (I) Studio Santandrea
Diisseldorf (D) Denise René -Hans Mayer Editions
1971
Köln (D) Galerie Der Spiegel
Antwerpen (B) X-One Gallery
New York (USA) Loeb Student Center, New York University: Peter Caws PhD,
......Lecture on 'Structure as a necessary and sufficient condition of intelligibility' (performance)
Paris (F) Galerie Daniel Templon
Milano (I) Galerie Daniel Templon
New York (USA) New York Cultural Center (retrospective)
1972
Zurich (CH) Galerie Bruno Bischofberger
Paris (F) Galerie Daniel Templon
Milano (I) Galerie Daniel Templon
1973
Warszawa (PL) Foksal psp Gallery
1974
Roma Galleria la Seconda Scala
Paris (F) Galerie Daniel Templon
Milano (I) Galerie Daniel Templon
1975
Stuttgart (D) Galerie Hetzler & Keller
Brescia (I) Galleria Nuovi Strumenti Arte Contemporanea
Sao Paulo (BR) XIIIth Biennale
Rio de Janeiro (BR) Museum of Modern Art
Paris (F) Galerie Daniel Templon
London (UK) Institute of Contemporary Art
1976
Hannover NH (USA) Hopkins Center, Dartmouth College
Ja Jolla CA (USA) La Jolla Museum of Contemporary Art
1977
Zurich (CH) Galerie Bruno Bischofberger
Saint-Etienne (F) Musée d'Art et d'industrie
Paris (F) Galerie Daniel Templon
Paris (F) Galerie Nancy Gillespie - Elizabeth de Laage
Hovikodden (N) Sonja Hennie -Niels Onstad Foundation
Diisseldorf (D) Galerie Denise René - Hans Mayer
1978
Long Island City, New York (USA): Special Project at PS1
Nizza (F) Galerie Association
Diisseldorf (D) Galerie Denise René - Hans Mayer
1979
Los Angeles CA (USA) ARCO Center for Visual Arts
New York (USA) Hal Bromm Gallery
Portofino (I) Galleria Civica d'Arte Moderna
Chigaco IL (USA) Marianne Deson Gallery
Paris (F) Galerie Daniel Templon
1981
Diisseldorf (D) Galerie Denise René - Hans Mayer
Geneva (I) Unimedia Gallery
Den Haag (NL) Artline Gallery
1982
Paris (F) Galerie Daniel Templon
New York (USA) The Bonlow Gallery
Los Angeles CA (USA) Malinda Wyatt Gallery
1984
Poitiers (F) Musée Sainte-Croix
Milano (I) Studio Marconi
Chicago IL (USA) Marianne Deson Gallery
Châteauroux (F) Centre d'art contemporain de Chateauroux
Basel (CH) Basel Art Fair (with Galerie Denise René - Hans Mayer)
Marseille (F) ARCA
Lyon (F) Galerie Jean Jules Berlin
Villeneuve-d'Ascq. (F) Musée d'Art Moderne
Paris (F) Galerie Daniel Templon
1985
Diisseldorf (D) Galerie Denise René - Hans Mayer
Epinal (F) Musée Departemental des Vosges.
Nizza (F) Galerie Bernard Lucas
Basel (CH) Galerie Littmann
1986
New York (USA) Castelli Uptown
Knokke-le-Zoute (B) Galerie Elisabeth Franck
Paris (F) Daniel Templon, Galerie Une
Paris (F) Daniel Templon, Galerie Deux
1987
Geneve (CH) Galerie Pierre Huber
Bottrop (D) Quadrat Museum -Moderna Gallery
Los Angeles CA (USA) Wenger Gallery
New York (USA) Castelli Uptown
Paris (F) Opera de Paris, Salle Favart: Graduation (contemporary ballet)
Chicago IL (USA) Chicago International Art Exhibition - CIAE (with Galerie Daniel Templon)
Paris (F) Daniel Templon, Galerie Une
Paris (F) Daniel Templon, Galerie Deux
Paris (F) Galerie Michele Chomette: Noir-Noir 1963 (phography)
Birmingham MI (USA) Cantor/ Lemberg Gallery
Vaison-la-Romaine (F) Centre International d'Art et de Sculpture
Roma (I) Galleria Primo Piano
1989
Antwerpen (B) Galerie Van de Velde
Rnokke-le-Zoute (B) Galerie Elisabeth Franck
Diisseldorf (D) Galerie Hans Mayer
Saint-Louis MO (USA) Ronald Greenberg Gallery
Frankfurt am Main (D) Galerie Lüpke, Frankfurt Art Fair
Paris (F) Galerie Daniel Templon
Troyes (F) Centre d'Art Contemporain: Noir-Noir 1963 (phography)
1990
Paris (F) Galerie Daniel Templon: La ligne a vif (performance)
New York (USA) Vrej Baghoomian Galleriy
New York (USA) Castelli Gallery
Tokio (J) Gallery 360°
Genève (CH) Galerie Pierre Huber
Paris (F) Galerie Mostra
Madrid (E) Theospacio
1991
Los Angeles CA (USA) Fred Hoffmann Gallery
Stockholm (S) Galerie Björn Ressle
Bruxelles (B) Galerie Eric Van de Wegha
New York (USA) Brent Sikkema Fine Arts: Black, Black and Black (photography)
Caracas (VE) Galeria Oscar Ascanio
New York (USA) Vrej Baghoomian Gallery
Barcelona (E) Galeria Theo
Paris (F) Galerie Daniel Templon
1992
Milano (I) Studio Oggetto
Tokio (J) Gallery 360°
Bogotá (CO) Galeria Tovar & Tovar
Tokio (J) Person's Weekend Museum
1995
Paris (F) Galerie Jacqueline Moussion: Mobilier Sculptural
Nizza (F) Musée d'art Moderne et d'Art Contemporain
Ludwigshafen (D) Wilhelm Hack-Museum
New York (USA) Andre Emmerich Gallery
Bruxelles (B) Atelier 340
Bogotá (CO) Museo de Arte Moderno de Bogotá
Bogotá (CO) Galeria Tovar & Tovar
Paris (F): Venet on the Champ de Mars
Seoul (ROR) Total Museum of Contemporary Art
Seoul (ROR) Gallery Hyundai
Boca Raton FL (USA) Boca Raton Museum of Art
1995
Kowloon, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Museum of Art
Kowloon, Hong Kong, Alisan Fine Arts
Shanghai (VR) Shanghai Museum of Art
Paris (F) FIAC (with Galerie Karsten Greve)
Epinal (F) La Lune en Parachute: Trajectoires divergentes
1996
Boca Raton FL (USA) Lipworth/ Hartmann International Fine Art
Bruxelles (B): Venet on Avenue Franklyn Roosevelt
Paris (F) Galerie Karsten Greve
Sète (F) Fortant de France
Köln (D) Galerie Karsten Greve
Köln (D): Venet on the Rheingarten
1997
Grenobel (F) Musée de Peinture et de Sculpture
Lyon (F) Le Nouveau Musée / Institut de Villeurbanne
Milano (I) Galerie Karsten Greve
Quebec (CAN) Musée du Quebec
Seoul (ROR) Gallery Hyundai
Gland (CH) Golf Club du Domaine Imperial: Venet in Geneva
Geneve (CH) Art & Public -Galerie Pierre Huber
Boca Raton FL (USA) Lipworth/ Harmann International Fine Art
1998
St. Etienne (F) Musée d'Art Moderne de St. Etienne
Basel (CH): Venet in Schützenmatt-park
Brescia (I) Galleria Massimo Minini
Milano (I) Galleria Karsten Greve
Torino (I) Galleria Persano
Torino (I) Centre Culturel Francais
West Hollywood CA (USA) Chacmool Contemporary Fine Art
1999
Buenos Aires (AR) Centre Cultural de Recoleta
Budapest (H) Mücsarnok:, Improvise - Inchevé Non-Formule
Frankfurt am Main (D) Galerie Scheffel:
Kunst im Bethmannhof
Amsterdam (NL) Art Affairs
Geneve (CH) Musée d'Art Moderne et d'Art Contemporain
Stockholm (S) Konstruktiv Tendens
2000
West Palm Beach FL (USA) Eaton Fine Art
Rio de Janeiro (BR) Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janiero
Cajarc (F) Centre d'Art Contemporain Georges Pompidou
Figeac (F) Salle des Ecritures
Brasilia (BR) Teatro Nacional de Brasilia
Geneve (CH) Musée d'Art Moderne et d'Art Contemporain
Helsinki (SF) Galerie Kaj Forsblom
Sao Paulo (BR) Museu Brasileiro da Escultura
2001
Paris (F) Galerie Jerome de Noirmont
Berlin (D) Galerie Haas & Fuchs
Bay Harbour Island FL (USA) Dorothy Blau Gallery
Paris (F) Galerie Rabouan Moussion
Paris (F) SM'ART - Stand Rabouan Moussion
Berlin (D) Galerie Hans Mayer
2002
Salzburg (A) Galerie Academia
Paris (F) Galerie Art of the Century
Paris (F) Musée d'Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou: Performance-Poetry
Koblenz (D) Ludwig-Museum
New York (USA) The Fields Sculpturepark, Art OMI.
Public Collections
Aachen (D) Neue Galerie im Alten Kurhaus
Akron OH (USA) Akron Art Institute
Athens GA (USA) Georgia Museum of Art
Bottrop (D) Josef Albers Museum, Quadrat
Bruxelles (B) Musées Royaux de Belgique
Cambridge MA (USA) MIT Permanent Collcetion, MIT
Chicago IL (USA) Museum of Contemporary Art
Cleveland OH (USA) Cleveland Center for the Arts
Dakkar (Senegal) Foundation Mourtala
Dallas TX (USA) Colonnade III Plaza, MEPC & Eyuity Properties
Detroit MI (USA) The Detroit Institute of Arts
Dunkerque (F) Musée d'Art Contemporain de Dunkerque
Genève (CH) Esplanade de Uni Mail
Genève (CH) Musée d'Art Moderne et Contemporain
Genève (CH) Musée d'Art et d'Histoire
Grenoble (F) Musée de Peinture et de Sculpture
Hannover NH (USA) Dartmouth College Museum and Galleries