The Artist
Lourdes Bernard is a multimedia Artist and painter and a graduate of Syracuse University School of Architecture and The New York Studio School. As a STEM professional she practiced architecture for 23 years, leading numerous design teams and collaborating on high-end projects nationwide. Her artwork has been exhibited at El Museo del Barrio where she was artist in residence, JCAL, the New York Public Library, PS1 Contemporary Art Center, Boston College, The Wilmer Jennings Gallery, FiveMyles Gallery, the Arsenal Gallery, the Courtyard Gallery in D.C. and most recently at the Erdman Center in Princeton. She is the recipient of two BAC grants, a NYSCA grant, a Yaddo fellowship, a Wurlitzer Foundation fellowship and an Abbey Mural Fellowship. Bernard teaches drawing and has been a guest speaker on her research-based projects at various colleges and universities. Her work is in numerous private and public collections. Bernard's solo exhibition "The Women of April” was on view at the NYSS gallery in NYC in Spring 2022 and in 2023 the exhibit traveled to the Erdman Center in Princeton, N.J. She is currently working on a narrative art monograph of her three-part Dominican Migration series.
The Work
Lourdes Bernard creates research-based fine art drawings, mixed media works and paintings of Cityscapes, Landscapes , Political Satire, and Feminist images that reference contemporary and historical events. Working within the framework of artist as witness, the images become a visual reportage of untold history inviting viewers to unpack complex stories and to expand their understanding. Images of women are central to an ongoing exploration of women within given social, communal and political identities. Historical photographs, oral stories, and language are creative mediums. Bernard has been exploring colonialist history both beyond US borders and within it.Drawing is foundational to her work and she uses a variety of materials to create complex and layered images so as to reinforce a visual narrative. Bernard is interested in the power and intensity of drawing. Drawing is the common link between her architecture and fine art practice and for Bernard drawing has been a lifelong love affair.
Lourdes Bernard pictured in the Upper Room studio.
"Drawing is the art of being able to leave an accurate record of the experience of what one doesn't know. A great drawing is either confirming beautifully what is commonplace or probing authoritatively the unknown"- Brett Whiteley