Bernadette Despujols multimedia practice centers on poignant exploration of intimacy, feminine embodiment, and the nuanced dynamics of women's roles and representations across various life stages, including those of mothers, daughters, grandmothers, and friends. Her work is a dynamic intersection of personal narrative and broader cultural discourse, offering a rich, multifaceted perspective on the realities and representations of women in contemporary society.
Despujols confronts and reinterprets the traditional and often objectified portrayals of the female form, drawing from a reservoir of personal experiences and the influential women in her life. Her paintings and sculptures are a testament to the complexity and diversity of female identity. Through a dynamic use of material and form, Despujols’s approach to painting is almost sculptural, applying layers of paint with varying thickness on a thickly gessoed background. She then uses knives to scrape the canvas, creating fine incisions, evoking a sense of dynamism that transcends the limitations of the canvas.
Bernadette Despujols (b. 1986 in Barquisimeto, Venezuela) holds an MFA in Visual Arts from California Institute of the Arts, Los Angeles (2010). Previously she studied Architecture at the Universidad Central de Venezuela (2017), and the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Her work has been exhibited across the US, Europe and South America. Recent solo and group exhibitions include The Salt of Two Seas, Newchild, Antwerp (2024); Friends & Lovers, FLAG Art Foundation, New York (2023); homesick, Nino Mier Gallery, Los Angeles (2022, solo); Oh, Man!, Green Family Foundation, Miami (2022, solo); We Are Family, New York Academy of Art, New York (2022); WE DANCE YOU MEAN, Cerquone Projects, Madrid (2021); Shattered Glass, Jeffrey Deitch Gallery, New York (2021); among others. Her work is part of the collections of ICA Miami, Florida and El Espacio 23, Miami. The artist lives and works between Miami, FL and Brooklyn, NY.
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2022 / homesick, Nino Mier Gallery, Los Angeles
2022 / Oh, Man!, Green Family Foundation, Miami
2021 / I Love You, Man, Spinello Projects, Miami
2021 / The Vast Ocean in Which the Woman Swims, Rachel Uffner Gallery, New York
2020 / Mamita, Arts + Leisure Projects, New York
2020 / Circle Within a Square, LVL3 Gallery, Chicago
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024 / The Salf of Two Seas, Newchild, Antwerp
2023 / Friends & Lovers, FLAG Art Foundation, New York
2022 / We Are Family, New York Academy of Art, New York
2021 / WE DANCE YOU MEAN, Cerquone Projects, Madrid
2021 / Shattered Glass, Jeffrey Deitch Gallery, New York