Patrick Bernatchez began his most recent major project, Lost in time, in 2009. Encompassing a wide range of objects and materials, this ambitious suite of works touches upon subjects not easily broached, such as cycles of life and death or renewal and decay. Bernatchez’s sculptures, photographs, and film installation appear decadent to our senses, with emotive sounds and dark, seductive imagery. It is difficult to not react to this work intuitively, yet Bernatchez’s delicate symbolism demands intellectual consideration of immense subject matters as well.
One of the central works of the exhibition, Bernatchez’s BW, is a wristwatch created in collaboration with a renowned Swiss watchmaker. It features a single hand upon a blank face, and measures with one full rotation, a period of exactly one thousand years. While its movement and consequence are beyond human perception and comprehension, its commentary on our own mortality and legacy is not lost.
Patrick Bernatchez currently lives and works in Montreal. Previous solo exhibitions include Galerie de l’UQAM in Montreal, Galerie WEST in Den Haag (Netherlands), Künstlerhaus Bethanien in Berlin and Prefix Institute of Contemporary Art in Toronto. He has upcoming solo exhibitions at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, the Musée d’art contemporain du Val-de-marne in France and at Casino Luxembourg Forum d’art contemporain. His work is featured in several private and public collections, including Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec and Caisse de depot et placement du Québec.
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