Toronto specializing in contemporary photography
 

Robert Bean

Robert Bean

b. 1954, Canada

Robert Bean is an artist, writer and curator living in Halifax, Nova Scotia where he is a Professor at NSCAD University.

Bean has edited books and published articles on the subject of photography, contemporary art and cultural history. He has been an active contributor to the Cineflux Research Group at NSCAD University and the Narratives in Space and Time art and mobility project. Bean is a recipient of grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and the Canada Council for the Arts. He was the Artist in Residence at the Canada Science and Technology Museum, Ottawa, in 2010.

Utilizing public archives and collections, Bean considers the temporal uncertainty that photographs and digital media evoke in relation to experience, technology and language. Specific to this project is the production of artwork and publications influenced by the culture of networks, mobile computing and obsolescence.

In 2011, the CONTACT Photography Festival and the McLuhan Centre for Culture and Technology commissioned Bean to complete a site-specific multimedia installation titled “Illuminated Manuscripts” at the McLuhan Coach House, University of Toronto. This project was also exhibited at Canadian Cultural Centre/Centre culturel canadien in Paris. In 2012, Bean completed the solo exhibition at Circuit Gallery titled “273 (brushing information against information)” in conjunction with the centenary of John Cage. In 2013 he completed a collaborative installation titled “Obsolescence and Inscription” at Saint Mary’s University Art Gallery, Halifax. In 2014, Bean curated the exhibition “Stan Douglas Photographs” in conjunction with the Scotiabank Photography Award. Installed at the Ryerson Image Centre during the CONTACT Photography Festival, the exhibition was accompanied by a monograph of photographs by Stan Douglas published by the Steidl Press. In 2014, Bean was invited to present a solo exhibition at ZKM (Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie) in Karlsruhe, Germany.

Robert Bean’s work is in public and private collections, including the National Gallery of Canada, Canada Council Art Bank, Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, AWBZ-Visual Art Collection of Global Affairs Canada, ZKM (Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie) Karlsruhe, Germany, and the Donovan Collection, University of St. Michael’s College, Toronto, Ontario.


Curriculum Vitae (CV)

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Robert Bean – CV [PDF]