Abstraction is simply a word to designate what we have not yet seen.
I was painting Icelandic landscapes before I had even set eyes upon them.
Carol Bernier
Visual artist
Biography
Born in Montréal on March 9, 1963, Carol Bernier continues to live and work in her native city. After initially studying art history at the Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM), she decided to enrol in the school’s studio arts program, ultimately earning a BFA in 1988 and an MFA in 1994.
​
Her curiosity in respect to every form of art led her at first to Hungary, and then France, to study printmaking. Five of her prints illustrated the 2009 artist’s book Quêtes d’absolus, co-authored by Yves Bonnefoy, Pierre Boulez and Jean-Jacques Nattiez. Her prints are published by Éditions Simon Blais in Montréal and by Éditions RLD in Paris.
​
Works by Carol Bernier have been featured in a number of solo shows at Montréal’s Galerie Simon Blais since 1995. The artist has also had solo exhibitions at Galerie Michel Guimont in Québec City (2007, 2010), as well as in Europe, notably at Galería Principal Sombrerers in Barcelona (2000), Galerie Jacques Lévy in Paris (2003, 2006), Galerie Le Sphinx in Montauban, France (1999, 2008) and Galerie La Librairie in Morges, Switzerland (2008).
In addition, Carol Bernier’s work has been on view at many art fairs and group exhibitions, including the Foire d’art contemporain in Montréal (1994), Feria Internacional de Arte Contemporáneo – Expoarte in Guadalajara, Mexico (1994, 1995), Perspectiva del arte actual de Quebec in Mexico City (1995), Québec, la belle Amérique, shown in Paris, Tournai and Brussels (1998), New Art Barcelona (1999, 2000), Works on Paper in New York (2000, 2005) and the Toronto International Art Fair (2001, 2007), as well as in numerous group shows at Galerie Simon Blais.
​
Her work can be found in many public, private and corporate collections, including those of Desjardins Group, Transcontinental, National Bank of Canada, Loto-Québec, Gaz Métro, Cirque du Soleil, SSQ Financial Group and Institut Philippe-Pinel.
Si tu cherches le feu,
tu le trouveras sous les cendres.
Mark Rothko
Complete biography
New publication
Le sourcier
This catalog is published in conjunction with the exhibition Carol Bernier - Le Sourcier presented at Galerie Simon Blais from September 13 to October 28, 2023.
Texts by :
Isabelle Masse and Jérémie McEwen.
Éditions Simon Blais, 2023, 56 pages,
45 colour images, French and English.
​
​
​
​
ISBN: 9782923751214
Quêtes
Art book. A meeting between five great artists: the composer Pierre Boulez, the poet Yves Bonnefoy, the painter Carol Bernier, the violinist Jeanne-Marie Conquer and the contalto Kathleen Ferrier.
Éditions Simon Blais, Montréal, 2009
« Intimate and direct, this relationship with the body has, in the Carol Bernier exhibition Le Sourcier, resulted in a sensuous exploration of plasticity evoking the paintings of Jean McEwen (1923–1999). On view at Galerie Simon Blais, this exhibition, which mainly consists of pastels, but also includes works in oil, invites viewers to have a sensory experience of art. Furthermore, it pays tribute to McEwen on the centenary of his birth and celebrates his contribution to Québec’s artistic heritage.»
Excerpt from Isabelle Masse text, Seeing with the Hands, Touching with the Eyes
« Carol and I are inspired by the same soul. That of my father, Jean McEwen, of that “giant,” as she has put it; as much as a giant for her as for me, though for undoubtedly different reasons: painter or dad, a phantom glossed with the yellow dunes and crimson magma of our secrets. Apart from those few moments when I got to know him, just out of childhood and just before he died, I do not know who that man was—and neither does she—but he is there, in the corner of my eye in my living room, and leaning against the wall in her studio. »
Excerpt from Jérémie McEwen text, Inspired by My Father
Publications
Sublime
This artist's book features five engravings by Carol Bernier, printed in Montréal by Alain Piroir. In addition to these original works, there are three short texts by Hélène Dorion.
Twelve copies of Sublime were produced.
Fondation Leucan, Montréal, 2016
Creuser avec les mains
Monograph celebrating twenty years of collaboration between Galerie Simon Blais and Carol Bernier. A retrospective of the artist's work from 1997 to 2014. Text by Robert Enright, Hélène Dorion, Richard Desjardins, Danielle Legentil and Serge Marquis.
Éditions Simon Blais, Montréal, 2014
Quêtes
Art book. A meeting between five great artists: the composer Pierre Boulez, the poet Yves Bonnefoy, the painter Carol Bernier, the violinist Jeanne-Marie Conquer and the contalto Kathleen Ferrier.
Éditions Simon Blais, Montréal, 2009