MICHEL de BROIN - Bitforms Gallery

MICHEL de BROIN
fb.1970, Monrtéal, Canada
Lives and works in Monrtéal
Michel de Broin is best known for interventions and his re-functionalization of utilitarian objects.
Rooted in conceptual premises, de Broin’s work generates unexpected levels of complexity from found objects
and physical juxtapositions. Established modes of signification are left behind, yielding retooled technological
environments and new possibilities for public space. At times, his ingenuity can be nearly indiscernible upon first
glance, appearing as a puzzle for the viewer to complete. For example, Shared Propulsion Car is a humanpowered 1986 Buick Regal that de Broin modified furtively. During the Exit Art biennial in 2005, this revolutionary
work was driven through Manhattan, presenting challenges to mid-town traffic, despite its petrol-free combustion.
De Broin has exhibited widely in Europe and North America. The first mid-career institutional survey of his work
was mounted in 2013 by the Musée d’Art Contemporain, Montréal. Solo exhibitions of his work have also been
presented at the Plug In Institute of Contemporary Art, Winnipeg, Canada (2009); Musée d’Art Contemporain
Val-de-Marne, France (2008); Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, Germany (2006); Musée National des Beaux Arts
du Québec (2006); and Villa Merkel, Esslingen, Germany (2002). His work has been featured in group
exhibitions at the Museum Tinguely, Basel, Switzerland; Curitiba Biennial, Brazil; Centre d’art Villa Arson, Nice,
France; Eyebeam, New York; National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa; Kunstverein Wolfsburg, Germany; Museum of
Canadian Contemporary Art, Toronto; and the Center for Curatorial Studies at Bard College, Annandale-onHudson, New York.
In 2014 de Broin will unveil Mehr Licht, a newly commissioned 20-meter project in Berlin for the Marie ElisabethLüders-Haus, at the Bundestag federal parliament. His public art works and commissions in the last decade
have included Possibilities, 2012, Mississauga; Interlace, 2012, Changwong; Majestic, 2011, New
Orleans; Revolution, 2010, Rennes; La maîtresse de la Tour Eiffel, 2009, Paris; Overflow, 2008, Toronto;
Encircling, Christchurch, 2006; Shared Propulsion Car, 2005, New York and 2007, Toronto; and Révolutions,
2003, Parc Maisonneuve-Cartier, Montréal.
Recipient of the 2007 Sobey Art Award, De Broin has also received grants from the Harpo Foundation and
Pollock-Krasner Foundation. His works are part of several private and public collections in France, Germany and
Canada. De Broin holds a MFA from L’Université du Québec à Montréal and a BFA from Concordia University.
Most recently, he was awarded a residency at the International Studio and Curatorial Program in New York,
which will begin March 2014.
bitforms gallery | 131 Allen Street New York, NY 10002 | t 212 366 6939 | www.bitforms.com
EDUCATION
1997
1995
MFA, Fine Arts, UQAM, Montréal, Canada
BFA, Fine Arts, Concordia University, Montréal, Canada
AWARDS AND DISTINCTIONS
2010
200912
199613
2007
2006
2002
1999
Harpo Foundation, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, Canada
Canada Art Council
Sobey Art Award, Canada
Prix Reconnaissance de l'UQAM, Montreal, Canada
Prix Graff, Montreal, Canada
Prix Pierre-Ayot, Montreal, Canada
Pollock-Krasner Foundation, New York, NY, USA
RESIDENCIES
2015
2014
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2006
2004
2003
2002
2001
Public Art Lab, Berlin, Germany
International Studio & Curatorial Program, New York, NY, USA
The Banff Centre, Banff, AB, Canada
Cíte Internationale des arts, Paris, France
ACME, London, United Kingdom
Darling Foundry, Montreal, Canada
Chinese European Art Center, Xiamen, China
Mac/Val, Vitry-sur-Seine, Paris, France
Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, Germany (Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec)
Centre européen d'actions artistiques contemporaines, Strasbourg, France
Villa Arson, Nice, France (Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec)
École nationale supérieure d'arts, Paris-Cergy, France
National Art Gallery, Sofia, Bulgaria
Bahnwäterhaus, Esslingen, Germany
Christoph Merian Stiftung, Basel, Switzerland (Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec)
PUBLIC WORKS
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2006
2003
2001
2000
Bloom, Saint Patrick’s Island, Calgary, Canada
Draw Bridge, Confederation Center, Charlottetown, PEI, Canada
Tortoise, Milton Keynes, England
Possibilities, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
Interlace, Dot Island, Changwon, South Korea
Majestic, The Third of May, New Orleans, LA,
Mehr Licht, courtyard, Marie-Elisabeth-Lüders-Haus, Bundestag, Berlin, Germany
Révolution, Art Norcac, Les Ateliers de Rennes, France
Arc, Île Notre-Dame, Parc Jean-Drapeau, Montréal, QC, Canada
Monument, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Airline, Pearson Airport, Toronto, ON, Canada
Encircling, North Hagley Park, Christchurch, New Zealand
Révolutions, Parc Maisonneuve-Cartier, Montréal, QC, Canada
Interweaving, Artefact, Canal Lachine, Montréal, QC, Canada
Lʼéclaireur éclairé, Centre de formation Daniel-Johnson, Pointe-aux-Trembles, QC, Canada
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2015
2013
La Dissipation Sur Le Virage, Eva Meyer Gallery, Paris, France
Retooled Appliances, bitforms gallery, New York, NY, USA
Michel de Broin, Musée d’Art Contemporain de Montréal, QC, Canada
bitforms gallery | 131 Allen Street New York, NY 10002 | t 212 366 6939 | www.bitforms.com
2012
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2002
Tour de force, Galerie Division, Montréal, QC, Canada
Bright Matter, Gallery Jessica Bradley, Toronto, ON, Canada
Cut in the Dark, Galeria Toni Tàpies, Barcelona, Spain
Confrontation, Le Cabinet, Paris
Disruption from Within, Plug In, Winnipeg, MB, Canada
Commodité, Espace à Vendre, Nice, France
Reciprocal Energy, Musée d’art contemporain du Val-de-Marne, Vitry-sur-Seine, France
Shared Propulsion Car, Mercer Union, Toronto, ON, Canada
Michel de Broin: Machinations, Musée National des Beaux-Arts du Québec, Québec City, QC; Galerie de
l’UQAM, Montreal, QC, Canada
Reverse Entropy, Künstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, Germany
Réparations, Galerie Isabella Bortolozzi, Berlin, Germany
Stick to Resist, La BF15, Lyon, France
Lost Object, Pierre-François Ouellette Art Contemporain, Montréal, QC, Canada
Made in France, L’Oeil de poisson, Québec City, QC, Canada ; La Vitrine, Paris, France
Honeymoons, (with Eve K. Tremblay), Gallery 44, Toronto, ON, Canada; Fototeka, Havana, Cuba; Pierre
François Ouellette Art Contemporain, Montréal, QC, Canada
What's wrong, Pierre-François Ouellette Art Contemporain, Montréal, QC, Canada
Damage Control, (with Paul Butler), Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, Toronto, ON, Canada
Mobilize, Bahnwärterhaus, Esslingen am Neckar, Germany
Épater la Galerie, Villa Merkel, Esslingen am Neckar, Germany
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
The Disorderliness of Things, la Galerie de l’UQAM, Montréal, Canada
Oh Canada, The Esker Foundation, Calgary, Canada
Rien à Voir, Au FRAC Poitou-Charentes site de Linzazy, Angoulême, France
Media Architecture Biennale, Godsbanen Center for Cultural Production, Aarhus, Denmark
Guns in the Hands of Artists, Jonathan Ferrara Gallery, New Orleans, LA
Transmission/Frequency: Tesla and His Legacy, I.D.E.A. at Colorado College, Colorado Springs, CO
Terrain Sensible, Espinoa, espace cultural, Baignes, France
Oh Canada, Owens Art Gallery, Sackville, NB, Canada
Velodream, The 4th International Biennale of Urban Art, Galeria Awangarda, Wroclaw, Poland
Buildering: Misbehaving the City, The Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati, OH
Vidéozoom. L’entre-images, Confederation Centre of the Arts, Charlottetown, PEI, Canada; Flickers, Rhode
Island International Film Festival, Providence, USA; Centre culturel canadien à Paris, Nuit blanche, Paris,
France
Tortoise, Nuit Blanche, Toronto, ON, Canada
Biomediaciones: Festival de Arts Electronicas y Video Transitio_MX05, Mexico City, Mexico
High Trash, Fleming Museum, Burlington, VT
Brooklyn/Montréal, Anthology Film Archives & Interstate Projects, New York, USA
Oh Canada, MassMoCA, North Adams, MA
Builders, Canadian Biennale, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa
Past Sobey Award Winners: A Selection from the National Gallery of Canada Collection, Museum of
Contemporary Canadian Art, Toronto
Vidéozones: Québec, Museo di Roma in Trastevere, Rome, Italy; Galerie de l’UQAM, Montréal, QC, Canada
Salons – Convivialité, Écologie et Vie Pratique, Domaine de Chamarande, Chamarande, France
Who's Afraid of the Cylinder, Sphere and Cone ? Geometry in the Landscape, an Alternative Vision of the
Environment? Musée départemental d'art contemporain de Rochechouart, Rochechouart, France
Dreaming Island, Changwon Sculpture Biennale, Changwon, South Korea
Toolkit, MKG127, Toronto, ON, Canada
Sunset, Frac Poitou-Charentes, Linazay, France
Vivement Demain, Musée d’art Contemporain du Val-de-Marne, Paris, France
À ciel ouvert. Le Nouveau Pleinairisme, Musée National des Beaux Arts du Quebec, Quebec City, QC, Canada
Pommery Experience #9: "The Sound Factory,”Pommery Foundation, Reims, France*
Abandon Normal Devices, John Moores University Gallery, Liverpool, UK
Beyond the crisis, The 6th International Curituba Biennal, Curituba, Brazil
Cabinet d’images. L’oeuvre de l’art, Musée national des beaux-arts Québec, QC, Canada
Majestic, Prospect.2, New Orleans, USA (Satellite Project)
Renouveau Réalisme, Fonds Régional d’Art Contemporain Poitou-Charentes, Angoulême, France
Car Fetish: I Drive Therefore I Am, Musée Tinguely, Basel
Sculpture parking, Le Confort Moderne, Poitiers, France
bitforms gallery | 131 Allen Street New York, NY 10002 | t 212 366 6939 | www.bitforms.com
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
What Comes, Les Ateliers Biennale d’art contemporain de Rennes, France
Checking in with your Hotspots, Surrey Art Gallery, Surrey, BC, Canada
Expansion, Galerie de l’UQAM, Montréal, QC, Canada
I don’t know Whether to laugh or cry, Museum London, London, ON, Canada
Nevermore, Souvenir, souvenir, que me veux-tu? Parcours #4, MAC/VAL, Vitry-sur-Seine, France
Theatrical Properties, bitforms gallery, New York, NY
Assises, Galerie Xippas, Paris, France
Auto. Dream and Matter, LABoral, Centro de Arte y Creaciòn Industrial, Gijòn; Centro de Arte Dos de Mayo,
Madrid, Spain
Sweep me off my feet, Musée d'art contemporain du Val-de-Marne, France; Musée national des beaux-arts du
Québec, QC, Canada
Energija, RIXC Gallery, Riga, Lettonie, Art+Communication Festival, Riga, Latvia
Épisode 3/4: 54% de témérité, (with Vincent Gavinet), La Box, École nationale supérieure d’art de Bourges,
France
The Game is up! How To Save the World in 10 Days, Vooruit, Ghent, Belgium
Inkonstruktion IV/Art Biesenthal, Biesenthal, Germany
Maniobres/Manoeuvres, Galeria Toni Tàpies, Barcelona, Spain
La Maîtresse de la Tour Eiffel, Nuit Blanche, Paris, France
Opération Tonnerre, United Artist, Main d’œuvres, Saint-Ouen, Paris, France
Road-Runners, VOX Centre de l’image contemporaine, Montreal, Canada
This-has-Been, On Stellar Rays, New York, NY
Eine Audiotour durch Berlin von Karin Sander, Temporâre Kunsthalle, Berlin, Germany
Acclimatizing, Centre National d'Art Contemporain de la Villa Arson, Nice, France
Intruders, Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, QC, Canada
The New World, Artnews Projects, Berlin, Germany
Overflow, Nuit Blanche, Toronto, ON, Canada
Québec Gold, Reims, France
The Québec Triennial: Nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is transformed, Musée d’art contemporain de
Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada
Untethered, Eyebeam, New York, NY
De-con-structions, National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada
Neue Heimat, Berlinische Galerie, Berlin, Germany
Sobey Art Award, Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, Halifax, NS, Canada
Anstoss Berlin - Kunst macht Wel, Haus Am Waldsee, Berlin, Germany
Canada Dreaming, Kunstverein Wolfsburg, Wolfsburg, Germany
Don't misbehave! SCAPE, Biennal of Art in Public Space, Christchurch, New Zealand
Seeing The Invisible, Riccardo Crespi, Milan, Italy
Cynicism? Manif d’art 3, La Manifestation internationale d’art de Québec, QC, Canada
Exit Biennal II: Traffic, Exit art, New York, NY
John Taylor: Imagination of Things Imaginable, Galerie Christian Nagel, Berlin, Germany
The System of Allusions, VOX, Centre de l’image contemporaine, Montréal, QC, Canada
SELECTED EXHIBITION CATALOGS
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
Lanctôt ,Mark; Sherer, Daniel and Michel de Broin, Michel de Broin, Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, 160
p.
Scott, Kitty, A Ciel Ouvert: Le Nouveau Pleinairisme, Musée National des Beaux-arts du Québec, p. 59 & 64-65.
Shaughnessy, Jonathan, with texts by Heather Anderson… [et al.], Builders: Canadian Biennale 2012, Ottawa,
National Gallery of Canada, p.181.
Staebler, Claire, Pommery Experience #9: "The Sound Factory,”Issy-les-Moulineaux: Beaux Art éditions/TTM
editions.
Markonish, Denise, Oh Canada: Contemporary Art from North North America, MIT Press, p. 399.
6ª Bienal de Curitiba: Além da Crise, Ministério da Cultura, Brasil, p. 156-159.
Klanten, Robert, Erratic: Visual Impact in Current Design, Gestalten, Berlin, p. 16-17, 108 &172
Jeune, Raphaëlle [sous la dir.], Biennale d’art contemporain: Ce qui vient, Reine, Les Ateliers de Rennes et Les
Presses du Réel, p. 192.
Fabre, Alexia …[et al.], Parcours #4 2010-2011: Nevermore, Vitry-sur-Seine, MAC/VAL, p.169.
LaTournelle, Rodney, Disruption from within: Michel de Broin, Winnipeg, Plug IN, Poster Brochure.
Martin, Alberto, Auto. Sueno y material: la cultura del automovil como territorio critico y creativo/Dream & Matter:
culture as critical and créative territory, Gijon, LABoral Centro de Arte y Creacion Industrial, p.255.
Ramade, Bénédicte, « Michel de Broin: Énergie réciproque vu par Bénédicte Ramade », in C’est pas beau de
critiquer, Vitry-sur-Seine, Éditions du MAC\VAL, p. 205.
bitforms gallery | 131 Allen Street New York, NY 10002 | t 212 366 6939 | www.bitforms.com
2008
2007
2006
David, Julie [sous la dir.], Emporte-moi, Quebec/Virty-sur-Seine, Musée National des Beaux-arts du
Québec/Éditions du MAC\VAL, 217 p.
Morel, Solenn; Moreux, Claire and Elfi Turpin, « Épisode 3/4: 54% de témérité », in Concept Aventure Revue,
Bourges, La Box.
Klanten, Robert and Lukas Feireiss, SpaceCraft 2, 280 p.
Fraser, Marie, La demeure, Montreal, Optica, p. 60.
Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, The Québec Triennial: Nothing is lost, nothing is created, everything is
transformed, 2008, Montreal, Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal/ABC Canada, p.216
Ouellet, Line [sous la dir.], Intrus/Intruders, Quebec, Musée National des Beaux-arts du Québec, 203 p.
Review - 32 Jahre, Berlin, Künstlerhaus Bethanien.
Schutze, Bernard, Neue Heimat, Berlin, Berlinische Galerie, p. 30.
Drouin-Brisebois, Josée, De-con-struction, Ottawa, National Gallery of Canada, 32 p.
de Blois, Nathalie; Anthié, Igor et Bernard Schutze, Pour la Serbie. Participation montréalaise à la 11ième biennale
d’arts visuels de Pancevo, Montréal, Centre d’art et de diffusion Clark, 52 p.
de Blois, Nathalie, Michel de Broin, Montreal, Musée national des Beaux-arts du Québec/Galerie de l'UQAM, 120
p.
Wulffen, Thomas, Yportne, Reversed Entropy, Berlin, Künstlerhaus Bethanien.
Contand, Natasha, “Michel de Broin: Encircling,” Don’t Misbehave! SCAPE. Biennale of New Zeland,
Christchurch, Art and Industry Biennal Trust, p. 42-45.
Jean, Marie-Josée, The System of Allusions, VOX, Montreal, Espace VOX, 4 p.
Joos, Jean-Ernest et Brigitte Morhardt-Ehrlicher, Épater la galerie/Mobilize, Esslingen am Neckar, Galerie
VillaMerkel/Bahnwärterhaus, p. 50
Uzel, Jean-Philippe, Michel de Broin “Matière dangereuse.” Le bout du tunnel, Montréal, Centre des arts actuels
SKOL, 3p.
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY
2013
2012
2011
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
2000
Charron, Marie-Ève, “Objets Rebelles et Utopies Vacillantes,” Le Devoir, Montréal, July 21st 2013, p. E6
Delgado, Jérôme, “Un electron libre aux confines des genres,” Le Devoir, Montréal, 18th & 19th May 2013, p. E3
McLaughlin, Bryne, “Cities of Light,” Candian Art, Canada, Winter 2012, p. 100-105 and Front Cover.
Cook, Sarah, “Espaces néomédiatiques: Interview with Michel de Broin,” Etc, n° 91, Winter 2011, p. 48-50.
de Broin, Michel, “Énergie réciproque,” Inter Art Actuel, Quebec, n° 102, 2009, p. 27-29
Joos, Jean-Ernest, “Machinations,” ETC Montréal, Montréal, n° 82, 2008, p.46-49
Milroy, Sarah, “Working with Plasticine, Alsphalt and Chairs,”The Globe and Mail, October 17th 2007 p. R1.
Gohlke, Gerrit, “Michel de Broin,” BE #13, Kuenstlerhaus Bethanien, Berlin, 2006.
Schutze, Bernard, “Taking Art for a Ride. Propulsion and Entropy in the Work of Michel de Broin,”in C Magazine,
Toronto,
n° 91, Fall 2006, p. 43-45.
de Broin, Michel, "Le Bureau des reparations,” ter Art Actuel, Quebec, Febuary 2005.
Wright, Stephen, Objests for Objoys: the attraction of the unforeseen, La Semaine, France 2005
Lamarche, Bernard, “Michel de Broin: A Logic of Being Against?,” Parachute, Montreal, n° 115, Fall 2004,
p. 12-28.
Milroy, Sarah, “The art that refreshes,” The Globe and Mail, Toronto, August 16th 2003.
Uzel, Jean-Philippe, “Michel de Broin: L’espace public mis à nu par l’artiste meme,”Spirale, Montreal, n° 200,
2002, p.47
Uzel, Jean-Philippe, “Michel de Broin: L’éclaireur éclairé,” Espace, Montreal, n° 60, Summer 2002, p. 40-41
Paré, André L., “Michel de Broin,”in Parachute, Montreal, September 2000.
de Broin, Michel, “Matière dangereuse,”Inter Art Actuel, Québec, no 76, p. 30-33.
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
Canada Council Art Bank
City of Winnipeg
FRAC Poitou Charentes, Angoulème, France
Neuer Berliner Kunstverein, Berlin, Germany
Musée d’art contemporain, Val-de-Marne, Vitry-sur Seine, France
Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec, Canada
Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, Canada
National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, ON
Norac, France
Villa Merkel, Essligen am Neckar, Germany
bitforms gallery | 131 Allen Street New York, NY 10002 | t 212 366 6939 | www.bitforms.com
Ville de Montreal, QC, Canada
bitforms gallery | 131 Allen Street New York, NY 10002 | t 212 366 6939 | www.bitforms.com