Bio |
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Canadian artist, educator, curator, and art dealer, Christian Bernard Singer was born in 1962 in Paris into a family of artists. He was raised in New York City where he began as a company dancer with Laura Foreman's Composers and Choreographers Theater, performing in Spaces and Foreman's seminal work, Signals II. These were performed over several years in such venues as Judson Memorial Church, the Cubiculo Theater, and The New School, until the work was eventually presented at the Museum of Modern Art. Moving from performance and choreography to costume design, he eventually headed the costume department for the Kawartha Festival Theatre in 1985 where he designed and produced over 100 costumes for 8 plays. He returned to school for formal training, spending a year at l'École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts in Paris (under Anne Rochette) and graduated from the Ontario College of Art and Design. This was followed by a Master of Fine Arts degree from the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. Singer has managed grant application programs for both The Canada Council and the Ministry of Culture and Communications (Ontario), was Director of the 2005 Contemporary Art Forum - Kitchener and Area (CAFKA), Curator and Associate Director of Lehmann Leskiw Fine Art until he co-founded Rouge Concept Gallery where he remained as Curator until 2009, bringing Judy Chicago: A Survey of Important Works (curated by Virginia Eichhorn) - the first large-scale survey exhibition for Chicago in Canada. In addition to serving as board member to several arts organizations, Singer is Curator of the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery, consults to artists and organizations, and continues to teach at both the Ontario College of Art and Design and the Toronto School of Art. In his own work, Singer is best known for incorporating living plant life, glass, clay, bronze, found objects, and video into installation-environments and land art works that turn on notions of place, memory and time passing. Since 1997, his work has been shown in commercial galleries in Canada, the U.S., and France, and since 2004, he has been included numerous museum and land art invitational exhibitions including: Summerfires (2009), Galerie Lausberg, Toronto; Aligning with Beauty (2009), Varley Art Gallery; Pass the Buddha with Julie Oakes (2008), Galerie Samuel Lallouz, Montreal; Cabinets of Curiosities (2008) and Tessellated Anamnesis: Patterns for Unforgetting (2005), Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery (Waterloo); Revivified (2008), Headbones Gallery, Toronto; Mobile Structures: Dialogues between Ceramics and Architecture in Canadian Art, (2007-08), MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina which also toured to the Surrey Art Gallery (B.C.); The Edward Day Gallery's Kiwi Sculpture Garden Project in Perth (2006-09); The Shore/Lines Project: Responding to Place (2005) at the MacLaren Art Centre; and Second Nature at the Fish Tank Gallery in New York City (2004). His work is represented in Toronto by Headbones Gallery. |
Solo Exhibitions |
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2008 |
Cabinets of Curiosities (Memory/Meaning/Milieu) The Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery, Waterloo, ON |
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2005
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Tessellated Anamnesis - Patterns for Unforgetting: Christian Bernard
Singer
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2003 |
Recent Sculptures and Paintings , Upstairs Gallery, This Ain't The Rosedale Library, Toronto |
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Chronicles of Being (MFA Thesis Exhibition), Fosdick-Nelson Gallery at Art Site, Wellsville, NY |
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Sarabande/Contre Pointe (collaboration with Linda Sormin), Robert Turner Gallery, Alfred, NY |
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2002 |
Initiation/Spring , Robert Turner Gallery, Alfred University, Alfred, NY |
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2000 |
The Hidden Phallus , Art System Gallery, Toronto |
Selected Group Exhibitions |
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2009 |
Contemporary Sculpture, Median Contemporary, Toronto. Curated by Rui Pimenta |
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Summerfires, Galerie Lausberg Contemporary, Toronto. Curated by Julie Oakes |
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Back to the Garden, Headbones Gallery, Toronto, Curated by Julie Oakes. With Angiola Churchill, Donna Kriekle, and Ortansa Moraru |
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Aligning with Beauty, Varley Art Gallery, Markham, Curated by Julie Oakes |
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2008 |
Kiwi Garden Sculpture Project, Kiwi Gardens (Perth) / Edward Day Gallery (Toronto), Curated by Mary Sue Rankin. With: Denise Atkinson, Ania Biczysko, Wojtek Biczysko, Anne O’Callaghan, Reinhard Reitzenstein, Penelope Stewart, Mark Thompson, and Marc Walter |
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The Buddha Composed, from Julie Oake's Pass the Buddha series, Galerie Samuel Lallouz, Montreal |
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Julie Oakes & Pass The Buddha The Museum of Northern History, Kirkland Lake, ON |
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Revivified,
Headbones Gallery, Toronto. Curated by Julie Oakes. With: P. Tobacco Forrester,
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2007 |
Mobile Structures: Dialogues between Ceramics and Architecture in Canadian Art, MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina. Curated by Timothy Long. With: Ruth Chambers, Greg Forrest, Jeremy Hatch, Rory MacDonald, Jeannie Mah, Alwin O'Bien, Gilbert Poissant and Linda Sormin. |
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Cirrostratus, Ontario Crafts Council, Toronto |
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Mobile Structures: Dialogues between Ceramics and Architecture in Canadian Art, MacKenzie Art Gallery, Regina. Curated by Timothy Long |
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2006 |
Kiwi Garden Sculpture Project, Kiwi Gardens (Perth) / Edward Day Gallery (Toronto), Curated by Mary Sue Rankin. With: With: Wojtek Biczysko, Shayne Dark, Tom Dean, Francis Muscat, Helena Ogorzelec, David Pickering, Orest Tataryn, and Mark Thompson |
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2005 |
Shore|Lines Project, MacLaren Art Centre, Barrie, ON (Large Scale Site Specific Outdoor Sculpture and Installation Biennial) Curated by James Patten |
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Kiwi Garden Sculpture Project, Kiwi Gardens (Perth) / Edward Day Gallery (Toronto), Curated by Mary Sue Rankin. With: Wojtek Biczysko, Tom Dean, Doug Guildford, Anthony Koutras, Dawn MacNutt, John McEwen, David Pellettier, Steven White, Catherine Widgery, |
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2004 |
Second Nature, Fish Tank Gallery, Williamsburg (Brooklyn), NY, Curated by Linda Dennis. With: Kim Keever, Lisa DiLillo, Wolfgang Stiller, and others. |
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Wish You Were Here 3, A.I.R. Gallery, New York, NY |
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2002 |
Experimental Television Center (guest screening), Newark Valley, NY |
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Film/Video Festival at Alfred University, Alfred, NY |
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2001 |
New Works in Glass, Art Site Gallery, Wellsville, NY |
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Oscillating Perspectives, Art Site Gallery, Wellsville, NY |
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The Jewish Education Alliance, Savannah, Georgia |
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The Gordon Center, Nashville, Tennessee |
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A Love Story, Mercer Union Gallery, Toronto |
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2000 |
Erotica 21 , Art System Gallery (featured in Project Room), Toronto |
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The Graduate Show, Ontario College of Art and Design, Toronto |
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Art/Party, Art System Gallery, Toronto |
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1999 |
Portes Ouvertes 1999, École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris |
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Supérette du sexe - festival "Un Printemps Bizarre," La Flèche d’Or, Paris |
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Galerie Gauche, École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris |
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1998 |
Mind over Matter ,OCAD, Toronto |
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1997 |
Eros/Erotica, The Simcoe Gallery, Toronto |
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Atrium Gallery (ceramic exhibition), OCAD, Toronto |
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1994 |
Fifth Avenue Court Gallery, Ottawa |
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1993 |
Fifth Avenue Court Gallery, Ottawa |
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1991 |
Waverley Gallery, Ottawa |
Performance |
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1987 |
Choreographer/Movement Director, The North Toronto Children’s Choir |
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1979 |
Performer/production assistant for Laura Foreman’s Composers and Choreographers Theater. New Collaborative Art/Video/Sound Installation-Environment, Robert Rauschenberg’s studio, New York. |
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1970-74 |
Company Dancer with Composers and Choreographers. Spaces performed at Bryant Park Library,New York. Signals II performances include: The New School Dance Festival, The Cubiculo Theater, Judson Memorial Church, Washington Square Methodist Church, The Museum of Modern Art (Sculpture Garden), New York. |
Selected Culture Sector Experience |
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2009 + |
Board of Directors, Visual Arts Ontario, Toronto |
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2009 + |
Curator, Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery, Waterloo, ON. |
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2007-09 |
Co-Founder/Co-Director/Curator, Rouge Concept Gallery, Toronto (included the landmark exhibition Judy Chicago: A Survey of Major Works curated by Virginia Eichhorn). Also representing and/or dealing of works by such artists as Jack Butler, Judy Chicago, Alfred Engerer, Robert Farmer, Daniel Hanequand, Jean-Christian Knaff, Claude Miceli, Francis Muscat, Julie Oakes, Tina Poplawski, Tyler Rock, Marian Wihak, and others. |
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2007-08 |
Associate Director/Curator, Lehmann Leskiw Fine Art Toronto. Representing such artists as Sheryl Dudley, Richard Halliday, Cherry Hood, Jiri Ladocha, Lee L'Clerc, Marcus Leatherdale, Attila Richard Lukacs, Julie Oakes, Tina Poplawski, Hans Schüle, and the estates of Peter Winterhalter Aspell and Karl-Heinz Weinberger. |
2005 |
Artistic and Executive Director, Contemporary Art Forum | Kitchener and Area (CAFKA), Kitchener |
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2001-03 |
Founding Artist Member, Coach House Art Studio, Toronto |
1996 |
Board of Directors (Treasurer), Inter/Access, Toronto |
2001 |
Administrative Services Officer, Touring Office, Canada Council, Ottawa |
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1994 |
Board of Directors (Treasurer), Fifth Avenue Court Gallery, Ottawa |
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1989-90 |
Publicist, First Canadian Artists, Toronto |
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1988-89 |
Project Grants Officer, Arts Branch, Ministry of Culture and Communications, Toronto |
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1985 |
Costume Designer/Dept. Head, Kawartha Summer Theatre, Lindsay, Ontario |
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1984-85 |
Assistant Costume Designer, The Company Theatre, Toronto |
Teaching Experience |
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2009-10 |
Ontario College of Art and Design |
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2007-10 |
Toronto School of Art |
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2008 |
Ontario College of Art and Design |
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2006-07 |
Ontario College of Art and Design |
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2003 |
School of Art and Design, New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, NY |
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2002 |
School of Art and Design, New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, NY |
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2001 |
School of Art and Design, New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University, NY |
Grants and Awards |
| 2006 | Visual Artist Project Grant, Ontario Arts Council |
| 2004 | Ontario Arts Council Exhibition Assistance Grant (Recommender: Visual Arts Ontario) |
| 2002 | Full Tuition Scholarship and Fellowship, NYSCC at Alfred University, NY |
| 2001 | Full Tuition Scholarship and Fellowship, NYSCC at Alfred University, NY |
| 2000 | Louis Odette Sculpture Award, Toronto, Canada |
| Dorothy Hoover Award for Visual Work and Written Research, Toronto, Canada |
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| Canada Millennium Scholarship Grant |
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| 1999 |
International Exchange Study Grant to ’École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts, Paris |
| Ontario College of Art and Design Tuition Bursary, Toronto, Canada |
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| 1998 | Dora Wechler Memorial Fund Award for Ceramics, Toronto, Canada |
| Charles Magee Memorial Tuition Scholarship for Drawing and Painting, Toronto, Canada |
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| 1996 | Artist in Residence, InterAccess, Toronto, Canada |
Education |
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2003 |
MFA Sculpture, |
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2000 |
A.O.C.A.D. Fine Art |
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1999 |
École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts, Paris |
Publications |
| Articles/Reviews: |
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Nicu, Maria Cecilia. Sublineri: Aligning with Beauty. Toronto: Observatorul,
14 December, 2008. |
| Books and Catalogues: |
| Oakes, Julie. Headbones Anthology (book). Toronto: RichFog, 2098. |
| Fanning, Eileen, Ed. American Art Directory 2009. New Providence, NJ: National Register Publishing; 63 edition, 2008. |
| Campbell, James D. Buddha Composed (book). Montreal: Galerie Samuel Lallouz, 2008. |
| Oakes, Julie. Headbones Anthology (book). Toronto: RichFog, 2008. |
| Oakes, Julie. Aligning with Beauty (exhibition catalogue). Markham: Varley Art Gallery of Markham, 2008. |
| Eichhorn, Virginia. Christian Bernard Singer: Cabinets of Curiosities. Waterloo: Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery, 2008. |
| Oakes, Julie. Christian Bernard Singer - Eco-Installations: Dressing Mother Earth. Toronto: Rich Fog Publishing (Book), 2008. |
| Gogarty, Amy. ‘A Bell Rings Out’ — Recollection, Architecture and Ceramics at the End of Modernity (exhibition catalogue). Regina: MacKenzie Art Gallery, 2007 |
| Long, Timothy and Gogarty, Amy. Unearthing (exhibition catalogue). Regina: MacKenzie Art Gallery, 2007 |
| Eichhorn, Virginia. Tessellated Anamnesis - Patterns for Unforgetting: New Work by Christian Bernard Singer (exhibition catalogue). Waterloo: Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery, 2007. |
| McDonagh, Don. The Complete Guide to Modern Dance. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1976. |
| McDonagh, Don. The Rise, Fall and Rise of Modern Dance. New York: Mentor Books, 1971. |
| Willis, John. Dance World 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974. New York: Crown Publishers, 1972-5. |
Video: |
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Ready, Tom (Producer). Smoke, A Firing with Christian Singer (Video). Toronto: OCAD, 1999. |
Texts Written by Singer: |
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Judy Chicago: A Survey of Important Works (catalogue design and Forward), Rouge Contemporary Projects at Rouge Concept Gallery, RichFog Micro Publishing, 2009 (ISBN 978-0-9811940-0-4). |
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Vicki Smith: Balance (catalogue essay), Lehmann Leskiw Fine Art, RichFog Micro Publishing, 2007 (ISBN 978-0-9732298-3-7). |
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The Mick and Cindy Show: The Cost of Being Fabulous (catalogue essay), Lehmann Leskiw Fine Art, RichFog Micro Publishing, 2007 (ISBN 978-0-9732298-2-0). |
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X Industria: CAFKA.05 (catalogue text), Contemporary Art Forum | Kitchener & Area, 2005 (ISBN 0-9730384-4-6). |
| Archives: |
| The
American Center for Artists, Santa Monica, California |
©2004 Christian Bernard Singer.
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All photodocumentation on this site by the artist unless otherwise indicated.