Catalyst Conversations: It's Physical: Kim Bernard and Jacob Barandes

September 28, 2015
Event Types
Talk / Lecture
Guests are seated on small stools around a woman with dark hair and glasses who is leading the lecture inside the gallery space.

Gallery talk as part of Gwenneth Boelens: At Odds at MIT List Visual Arts Center in 2017.

Catalyst Conversations is pleased to present artist Kim Bernard and Harvard theoretical physicist Jacob Barandes in a lively conversation about the overlap and synergy between physics and her interactive kinetic sculptures. 

Kim Bernard is presently the artist-in-residence at the Harvard University Physics Department. She says, “It’s fascinating that there are predictable patterns in matter and motion.  I’m interested in creating work that demonstrates this phenomena simply, with an aesthetic that allows the viewer easy access, and provides a tangible way of seeing physics.”

The conversation will be followed by a reception. 

About the Speakers

Kim Bernard shows her sculpture, installations and encaustic works nationally and has been invited to participate in many exhibits, some of which include the Portland Museum of Art, Currier Museum of Art, Fuller Craft Museum, Colby College Museum of Art, Art Complex Museum and UNH Museum of Art.  Her work has been reviewed in the Boston Globe and Art News and featured in 100 Artists of New England. Bernard is the recipient of the Piscataqua Region Artist Advancement Grant, several Maine Arts Commission Grants. She received her BFA from Parsons in 1987, her MFA from Mass Art in 2010 and currently teaches at the Maine College of Art. Bernard gives presentations, lectures and offers workshops nationally as a visiting artist.

Dr. Jacob Barandes is Associate Director of Graduate Studies and Lecturer on Physics for the Department of Physics, Harvard University. He earned his Ph.D. in Physics in 2011 from Harvard, and a B.A. in Physics and B.A. in Mathematics from Columbia University where he was the Class of 2004 Valedictorian. His research areas include quantum theory, quantum gravity, and high-energy theoretical physics. His recent awards and honors include a Phi Beta Kappa Award for Excellence in Teaching as well as the Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning Certificate of Excellence from Harvard University.