Bernard AUBERTIN was a member of the  Düsseldorf "Zero Group" of  Heinz Mack, Otto Piene and Günther Uecker. His artistic activity took place initially in Paris and then from the '70s in Brest and for long periods between Brescia and Verona. 

Following a visit to the Paris studio of Yves Klein in 1957, Bernard Aubertin was inspired to follow in Klein’s footsteps and work within the field of monochromy, a style that he adamantly adhered to throughout his career. He chose a vibrant red hue for its compelling dichotomy: on the one hand, it evokes violence as the colour of blood and fire and on the other it embodies an infinite and anonymous purity. In addition, the colour red is also rich in psycho-analytical interpretations and connotations and has peculiar optical effects on the viewer.

 

During the 1960s Aubertin used his colour red to cover his 'Tableaux-clou' (nail-paintings). Subsequently his practice evolved into the 'Tableaux-feu' (fire-paintings), marking his transition to the ephemeral; the canvas, consisting of matches, lighting up with live and real flame.Thus, the medium of fire effectively becomes the physical manifestation of his chosen colour. Many of the works consist of abstract compositions using matches that were later burned, creating variations caused by the spontaneous nature of flame. The process by which the works are created is inherent in the final product and the viewer can clearly see the charred transformation that took place. In effect, the destructive nature of fire becomes a mode of creation and rebirth. Through his performances of burning paintings, books and objects,

In time, Aubertin also  became considered a conceptual and perfomance artist.

 

Since the 1960s, Aubertin's work has been widely exhibited throughout Europe and the United States. In 1977, Aubertin was invited to show at Documenta 6, Kassel, Germany. In 2011 he showed at the 54th Venice Biennale. In 2012, Aubertin produced a happening of burning a series of fire paintings at the Palais de Tokyo, Paris. 

 

Public collections include

Bibliothèque Nationale de Paris, Paris

Musée de Grenoble, Grenoble

Centre National de l'Art Contemporain, Paris

Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam

Musée de Graz, Graz

Museum of Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf

Museum am Ostwall, Dortmund

Museum Moderner Kunst, Klagenfurt

Archivio della Grazia di Nuova Scrittura, Milan

Museu Coleção Berardo, Lisbon

The Norton Museum of Art, Palm Beach

Museo de Arte Moderno, Venezuela

 

Solo Exhibitions

 

2017, Bernard Aubertin Situazione Pittorica del Rosso, opere degli anni sessanta e settanta, ABC-ARTE Gallery, Genoa; In Memoriam – Hommage à Bernard Aubertin (1934-2015),  Galerie Jean Brolly, Paris.
2016, Bernard Aubertin, Leeahn Gallery, Seoul; RED | The Estate of Bernard Aubertin, De Buck Gallery, New York.
2015, Bernard Aubertin et Bernard Rancillac: de rouge à rouge, Galerie Jean Brolly, Paris; Bernard Aubertin: Von ZERO bis heute, Galerie Heinz Holtmann, Cologne.

2014, Bernard Aubertin und Zeitgenossen, Galerie Maulberger, Munich; Bon anniversaire Bernard!, Galerie Jean Brolly, Paris

2013, Zéro Paris-Düsseldorf, Passage de Retz. Paris; La nature des choses, MAMAC, Nice

2012, Livres brûlés, Galerie Jean Brolly, Paris; Tout feu tout flamme, Tornabuoni Art, Paris; Rouge, galerie Jean Brolly, Paris; Bernard Aubertin – Works from 1958-1989, The Mayor Gallery, London.

2010, Tableaux feu et monochromes, Galerie Jean Brolly, Paris.

2009, 75 x Aubertin, Stiftung für konkrete Kunst, Reutlingen.

2006, Bernard Aubertin. Peintures monochromes, Galerie Jean Brolly, Paris; Bernard Aubertin. Le rouge total, Galleria CIDAC Arte, Brescia, Italy.

1990, Galerie Gilbert Brownstone & Cie, Paris; Galleria Vinciana, Milan; Galerie Jousse Saguin, Paris

1989, Galeria Oscar Ascanio, Caracas; Galerie Schoeller, Düsseldorf

1988, Galerie Gilbert Brownstone & Cie, Paris; Stiftung fur Konkrete Lunst, Archiv, Reutlingen

1987, Galerie Béatrix Wilhelm, Stuttgart

1986, Galerie Charley Chevalier, Paris

1983, Galerie Donguy, Paris; Galerie Toni  Brechbühl, Grenchen

1979, Galerie Weiller, Paris

1978, Palazzetto dello Sport, Abano Terme; Galerie 44, Kaarst by Dusseldorf

1977, Galleria Rebus, Florence

1975, Studio Brescia, Brescia; Galleria Il Punto, Turin

1974, Galerie 2, Stuttgart, Studio Brescia, Brescia, Italy; Galleria Banco, Brescia, Italy; Studio Firenze Art Contemporanea, Florence; Galleria dei Mille, Bergamo, Italy; Galleria Delta, Salerno, Italy, Studio F22, Palazzolo, Italy; Galleria Il Canale, Venice

1973, Galerie Toni Brechbühl, Grenchen, Switzerland; Musée de l'Abbaye Sainte-Croix, Sables-d'Olonne, France; Galerie Seebacher, Austria

1972, Retrospective Exhibition, C.N.A.C., Paris

1971, Galerie Ursula Lichter, Frankfurt

1969, Galerie Senatore, Stuttgart

1968, Galerie des Quatre Vents, Paris; Galerie Riquelme, Paris; Leine Galerie e V., Frankfurt

1967, Falerie Weiller, Paris; Galerie M.E. Thelen, Essen

1962, Galerie Wulfengasse, Austria

 

ZERO Group Exhibitions

1973, Sammlung Cremer, Musée des Beaux-Arts, Tübingen

1972, Otto Piene Lichtballet und Kunstler der Gruppe Zero, Galerie Heseler, Munich

1971, Sammlung Cremer, Kunst der 60er Jahre, Kunstverein, Heidelberg

1969, Dynamozero 1959 - 1969, Galerie Ursula Lichter, Frankfurt

1968, Cinétisme, Maison de la Culture, Grenoble, France

1967, Luminism, George Washington Hotel, New York

1966, Destruction in Art symposium, London; Climat 66, Musée de Grenoble, France

1965, Zero - Avant - Garde, Atelier de Fontana, Milan

1962, Zero, Galerie Schindler, Berne

1961, Zero, Galerie Dato, Frankfurt