BIOGRAPHY
For Nicolas Ruel, an artist born in Montreal in 1973, photography was initially a gateway to the rest of the world and to those who inhabit it. He has visited nearly a hundred countries, setting foot in most great capitals.
His works have been the subject of numerous solo and group exhibitions around the world, have been presented in multiple contemporary art fairs, and have been included in several public and private collections (Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, Museum Europäischer Kulturen in Berlin, Brooklyn Museum, Kunsthalle in Munich, Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul, Swedish Centre Architecture and Design in Stockholm, Musée des arts décoratifs in Paris).
For several years, Ruel has maintained a close collaboration with the LVMH group and the Jean Paul Gautier fashion house. When he isn’t travelling the world as part of his many photography projects, he splits his time between his Paris studio and his Montreal artistic production workshop.
Straying from the beaten path, Ruel pushes the boundaries of a formal approach to photography. In addition to his close relationship with architecture, urban planning, culture and elements of infrastructure as subjects, his work cultivates a particular relationship to time, memory and movement, materializing in a photographic process of double exposure. With this signature “in-camera” technique, the artist superimposes two perspectives of a single environment. In keeping with the Cubist aesthetic, he brings together two different points of view of the same subject in one image, thus creating a contemporary and urban vision prompting the viewer to consider the world from a new and unexpected angle.
Presented in large format on stainless steel plates, the photographic works are the result of a complex printing process, born of meticulous expertise and made possible by a team of valuable collaborators. Like an alchemist, Nicolas Ruel creates his works by composing with pigments, steel, bronze, and gold.
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Solo Exhibitions
| 2019 | Paris Versailles, Galerie de Bellefeuille, Montréal, Canada |
| 2018 | Toronto / New York, Galerie de Bellefeuille, Toronto, Canada |
| 2017 | Les siècles / Centuries, Galerie de Bellefeuille, Montréal, Canada |
| 2015 | Montréal, Projet 8 secondes, Galerie de Bellefeuille, Montréal, Canada |
| 2014 | Œuvres choisies / Selected work, Galerie de Bellefeuille, Montréal, Canada |
| 2013 | Iconography, Thompson Landry Gallery, Toronto, Canada |
| 2012 | 12 ans / 12 years, Galerie de Bellefeuille, Montréal, Canada Soundtrack, Galerie Seine 51, Paris, France |
| 2011 | Micro-métrages, Lacerte Art Contemporain, Montréal, Canada Until Now, Shore Club, Toronto, Canada City Scape, Galerie Seine 51, Paris, France |
| 2010 | Carnaval, Thompson Landry Gallery, Toronto, Canada |
| 2009 | Projet 8 secondes, Galerie Orange, Montréal, Canada Projet 8 secondes, Thompson Landry Gallery, Toronto, Canada Projet 8 secondes, Galerie Seine 51, Paris, France |
| 2008 | Recent Works, Thompson Landry Gallery, Toronto, Canada Œuvres récentes, Galerie Seine 51, Paris, France Elements, Decca 77, Montréal, Canada Refraction, Hôtel Nelligan, Montréal, Canada |
| 2007 | Inox, Galerie Seine 51, Paris, France Elements, Lacerte art contemporain, Québec, Canada Elements, Thompson Landry Gallery, Toronto, Canada Œuvres choisies, Galerie Orange, Montréal, Canada Le Québec au Japon, Ambassade du Canada à Tokyo, Japon |
| 2005 | Inox, Parquet de la Caisse de dépôt et de placement du Québec (CDP), Montréal, Canada. |
Group Exhibitions
| 2020 | Modern + Contemporary, Palm Beach Art Fair, Stand Galerie de Bellefeuille, Palm Beach, USA |
| 2019 | Collective Exhibition, Museum Europäischer Kulturen, Berlin, Germany Art Miami, Miami Beach Contemporary Art Fair, Stand Galerie de Bellefeuille, Miami, USA Art Toronto, Toronto international art fair, Stand Galerie de Bellefeuille, Toronto, Canada Palm Beach Art Fair, Stand Galerie de Bellefeuille, Palm Beach, USA |
| 2018 | Art Miami, Miami Beach Contemporary Art Fair, Stand Galerie de Bellefeuille, Miami, USA Art Toronto, Toronto international art fair, Stand Galerie de Bellefeuille, Toronto, Canada Palm Beach Art Fair, Stand Galerie de Bellefeuille, Palm Beach, USA |
| 2017 | Pulse, Miami Beach Contemporary Art Fair, Stand Galerie de Bellefeuille, Miami, USA (still) life, Galerie Seine 51, Paris, France Art Toronto, Toronto international art fair, Stand Galerie de Bellefeuille, Toronto, Canada Sculpture, Galerie de Bellefeuille, Montréal, Canada |
| 2016 | The fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier, Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP), Seoul, Korea The fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier, Kunsthalle, Munich, Germany |
| 2015 | Art Palm Beach, Foire internationale d’art contemporain, Stand Galerie de Bellefeuille, Palm Beach, USA |
| 2014 | Expo Chicago, Chicago international art fair, Stand Galerie de Bellefeuille, USA Art Toronto, Toronto international art fair, Stand Galerie de Bellefeuille, Toronto, Canada Photo 2014, Galerie de Bellefeuille, Montréal, Canada Collectif d’été, Galerie Seine 51, Paris, France |
| 2013 | The fashion World of Jean Paul Gaultier, Swedish Centre Architecture and Design, Stockholm, Sweden Art Toronto, Toronto international art fair, Stand Galerie de Bellefeuille, Toronto, Canada Summer Show, Galerie Seine 51, Paris, France |
| 2012 | Art Toronto, Toronto international art fair, Stand Galerie de Bellefeuille, Toronto, Canada |
| 2011 | Collectif d’été, Galerie Seine 51, Paris, France My Favorites, Lacerte Art Contemporain, Montréal, Canada |
| 2010 | Art Toronto, Toronto international art fair, Stand Galerie Orange, Toronto, Canada From Quebec in New York, Relative Space, New York, USA Art Basel Group Exhibition, Seine 51 in Wynwood Art District, Miami, USA Collectif, Galerie Seine 51, Paris, France Bois, encre, métal, Galerie Orange, Montréal, Canada |
| 2009 | Collectif, Galerie Seine 51, Paris, France Photo Miami 09, Stand Galerie Orange, Art Basel, Miami, USA TIAF, Toronto international art fair, Galerie Lacerte, Toronto, Canada Collectif, Galerie Orange, Montréal, Canada Mori Tower Project, Nuit Blanche, Thompson Landry Gallery, Toronto, Canada Périple, Galerie Orange, Montréal, Canada Group show, Thompson Landry Gallery Toronto, Canada Collectif, Galerie Seine 51, Paris, France |
| 2008 | Palm Beach3, Foire internationale d’art contemporain, Galerie Seine 51, Palm Beach, USA Collectif Photo, Galerie Orange, Montréal, Canada Photo Miami 08, Stand Galerie Orange, Art Basel, Miami, USA Mouvements focalisés II – Chorégraphes/Photographes, Galerie SAS, Montréal, Canada Photofocus, Galerie Orange, Montréal, Canada Group show, Thompson Landry Gallery, Calgary, Canada Collectif, Galerie Seine 51, Paris, France |
| 2007 | TIAF, Toronto international art fair, Stand Galerie Lacerte, Toronto, Canada International Flora, Le festival de jardins de Montréal, Montréal, Canada Collectif, Galerie Lacerte, Québec, Canada Quatre-Quarts, Galerie Orange, Montréal, Canada Collectif, Galerie Seine 51, Paris, France Group show, Thompson Landry Gallery, Toronto, Canada My Favorites, Galerie Seine 51, Paris, France L’Art du Japon au Québec, Palais des Congrès de Montréal, Montréal, Canada Art-Paris, Foire internationale d’art contemporain, Galerie Seine 51, Paris, France Palm Beach3, Foire internationale d’art contemporain, Galerie Lacerte, Palm Beach, USA |
| 2006 | TIAF, Toronto international art fair, Galerie Lacerte, Toronto, Canada Collectif, Galerie Orange, Montréal, Canada Group show, Thompson Landry Gallery, Toronto, Canada Palm Beach3, Foire internationale d’art contemporain, Galerie Lacerte, Palm Beach, USA Art Miami, Foire internationale d’art contemporain, Galerie Lacerte, Miami, USA |
| 2005 | Collectif, Galerie Lacerte, Montréal, Canada TIAF, Toronto international art fair, Galerie Lacerte, Toronto, Canada Vicissitudes, Exposition duo présentée au Cirque du Soleil, Montréal, Canada Collectif Capic, Galerie Art Mûr, Montréal, Canada Lieux, Galerie Orange, Montréal, Canada Les Nues, Galerie Galri, Montréal, Canada La La La Human Steps, Aéroport international Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau, Montréal, Canada |
Collections
| Air Canada Arton Capital Ashlar Urban Baume & Mercier BMO Banque de Montréal Canadiana Fund State Art Collection Cirque du Soleil Colart Collection Dior East-West Investment Fednav Globe Capital Management Gowlings Lafleur Henderson LLP Irving Loto-Québec Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy LVMH MGM Grand Microsoft Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal Museum Europäischer Kulturen Ontario Power Authority Pembrook Capital Management Power Corporation The Rose Corporation Rothschild Investment Banking Steve Madden Stonegate TD Bank Financial Group Warner Brothers Private collections |
Education
| 1995 | Études en scénarisation cinématographique Université du Québec à Montréal |
| 1993 | Relations internationales – concentration en photographie Cégep du Vieux-Montréal |