karen elaine spencer
education
2001 m.f.a. université du québec à montréal.
1986 b.f.a. nova scotia college of art and design.
grants
conseil des arts et des lettres du québec – 2007, 2003, 2002, 2001, 1997, 1995
conseil des arts et des lettres du québec, studio du québec à paris – 2005
the canada council – 2005, 2003, 1991, 1989
residencies
2009 centre sagamie, alma, québec.
2009 bureau d’investigation d’archives(bia)/the office for archival review(oar), centre des arts actuels skol, montréal, québec. coordinated by sabrina russo and karen zalamea.
2009 dream letters for granby, 3e imperial art actuel, grandby, québec.
2008 i dreamt i ran away from home, visualeyez 2008, latitude 53, edmonton, alberta. curator: todd janes.
2007 dream listener, white water gallery, north bay, ontario.
2006 votre rêve dans mon oreille, le lobe, chicoutimi, saguenay, québec.
2005 bread-bed, la cité internationale des arts, paris, france.
2002 bread-bed, the new gallery, calgary, alberta.
solo exhibitions
2008 writing with water, galerie espace, festival voix d’amériques, montréal, québec.
2007 dream listener, dare-dare centre de diffusion, montréal, québec.
2005 metro rider, la centrale, montréal, québec.
2003 bread-bed, eastern edge, st. john’s, newfoundland.
2003 tit sucker, gallery 44, toronto, ontario.
2003 bread-bed, galerie verticale, laval, québec.
2002 tit sucker, bread-bed, eyelevel gallery, halifax, nova scotia.
2002 expect nothing, dare-dare centre de diffusion, montréal, québec.
2000 vérifiez que, centre des arts actuels skol, montréal, québec.
1998 menaçante et fusionnelle, action art actuel, saint-jean-sur-richelieu, québec.
1997 if you could hear my voice, alternator gallery, kelowna, british columbia.
1997 evolutio, ace art incorporated, winnipeg, manitoba.
1996 strong enough, galerie 303, montréal, québec.
1995 evolutio, artcite, windsor, ontario.
1992 karen spencer, struts gallery, sackville, new brunswick.
1991 the hands that hold, richmond art gallery, richmond, british columbia.
1989 karen spencer, galerie powerhouse, montréal, québec.
1988 symbols and apparitions, the art gallery mount saint vincent university, halifax, novia scotia. curator: charlotte townsend-gault.
group exhibitions
2009 what happens when nothing happens: unrealised ideas from montréal, gallery rotor, valand school of art, gothenburg, sweden. travels to fofa gallery, montréal, québec. curator: veronique malo and emily mennerdahl, the independant study group (isg).
2008 carte postale, atsa, létat d’urgence, montréal, québec.
2008 la rue des rêves, (with l’oeil dans l’front) prix du jury, paysages éphémères, montréal, québec.
2007 dream listener, atsa, létat d’urgence, montréal, québec.
2002 va & viens, projet du labo centralien, la centrale, montréal, québec.
2001 from the past to the present, la centrale, montréal, québec.
2000 femmes au-delà/edgy women, galerie 303, montréal, québec.
2000 photocopie, les livres d’artists, galerie 303, montréal, québec.
1999 en française, les livres d’artistes, galerie 303, montréal, québec.
1998 poil, les livres d’artistes, galerie 303, montréal, québec.
1997 corps, les livres d’artistes, galerie 303, montréal, québec.
1996 skin, galerie stornaway, montréal, québec.
1996 fertile ground, agnes etherington art centre, kingston, ontario. cuator: jan allen.
1996 montréal, 450 broadway gallery, new york, new york.
1996 vue compressée, articule, montréal, québec.
1992 couples, galerie pink, montréal, quebéc.
audio/video screenings
2007 dream listener, an audiobook in three movements,(with crum) dare-dare, montréal, québec.
2002 swim’s walk, shout at eternity, montréal, québec.
2002 karen’s bread shoes, d2d, 7a*11d, toronto, ontario.
2002 karen’s bread shoes, 4th international multimedia art festival (imaf,)
performance art today, odzaci, yugoslavia.
spoken word performance
2007 score for a voice studying lamentation, for catcall, montréal, québec.
2007 beautiful dreamers, for text-perplexed, voix d’amériques,
montréal, québec. curator: victoria stanton.
2005 things that go down, for la centrale, montréal, québec.
2004 facing the lost, for la lumière comme surmoi, performance + photographie, dazibao, montréal, québec. curator: france choinière and michèle thériault.
performance
2009 never happened (let’s pretend it) what happens when nothing happens, fofa gallery, montréal, québec. curator: veronique malo and emily mennerdahl, the independant study group (isg).
2008 intimate/transparent, for grace exhibition space, brooklyn, new york.
2005 lit de pain, for multiprises 2, la cité internationale des arts, paris, france.
2004 bread-bed, for anti-contemporary art festival, kuopio, finland.
2003 partager, for prescription, folie/culture, québec, québec. curator: denis simard.
2003 onion peeler and play group, for interazioni performance festival, sardinia, italy.
2003 american can(’t), for espaces émergents, coup de dés “déterritorialité,” montréal,québec. curator: guy sioui durand.
2002 toast maker, for un cri vers l’éternitè/shout at eternity, montréal, québec.
2001 ramblin’ man, for articule special projects, montréal, québec.
2000 tu me brûles, for les yeux rouges, 24 heures de performance et d’art action, rouyan-noranda, québec. curator: sylvie cotton.
2000 mercredi après-midi, at la brioche lyonnaise, montréal, québec.
1999 indifférence, for l’exposition interuniversitaire, centre de diffusion, uqam. montréal, québec.
1999 rocking/sucking, for public art as social intervention, montréal, québec.
1998 les langues aux doigts, english version for the opening of the conference: feeding our souls, creating a healing community approach to mental health, brescia college, london, ontario.
1998 je fais une erreur, for centre de diffusion, uqam, montréal, québec.
1998 vérifiez que, at the centre r.c.a., montréal, québec.
1998 lecture de irigaray “fécondité de la caresse,” at a vacant lot, montréal, québec.
1998 lecture de irigaray “fécondité de la caresse,” for machination communicantes –1, centre de diffusion, uqam, montréal, québec.
1997 track/breath, at the lachine canal at st. ambroise, montréal, québec.
1997 les langues aux doigts, for centre de diffusion, uqam, montréal, québec.
collections
air canada
the richmond art gallery
the canada council art bank
bibliotheque nationale du québec
richmond women’s resource centre association
the art gallery, mount saint vincent university
curating
2009 viva! art action, centre des arts actuels skol, montréal, québec.
2004 she came to my house, she knocked upon my door, the new gallery,
calgary, alberta.
2002 3plus3, échange san francisco/montrèal, la centrale, montréal, québec.
reviews
inter art actuel, hiver 2008-2009, 101, voix de femmes, voix des amériques. pp. 74-76. letarte, geneviève.
the edmonton journal, july 19, 2008. at visualeyez fest, it’s all about the art. bouchard, gilbert.
the north bay nugget, september 17, 2007. montreal artist takes her dreams to the streets. dubois, denis.
the gazette, montréal, nov. 29, 2007. taking it to the streets, dewolfe. christopher.
voir, (saguenay), 2 novembre, 2006. rêver mieux. caron, jean-françois.
montréal mirror, june 2 – 8, 2005. what goes down comes up. p. 37. redfern, christine.
cv variable, no. 65: portraits, september 2004. photographic memory: the experience of performance. p. 29. mcleod, dayna. 20040901cv_photo_65review
espace, no. 69, fall, 2004. esthétiques urbaines emergentes/emerging urban aesthetics. pp. 22-25. boivin, julie.
mix, vol. 29, pt. 1, summer 2003. artist-run culture.
the telegram, st. john’s newfoundland, vol. 125, no. 108, july 22, 2003. artist making an impression: bread-lined installation creating a controversy. bradburry bennet, tara.
montréal mirror, vol. 18, #32, january 23 – 29, 2003. bread and bed. p. 41. redfern, christine.
montréal mirror, vol. 17, #16, september 20 – 27, 2001. ramble on. p. 43. redfern, christine.
montréal campus, vol. xxi, no. 8, 06, decembre 2000. l’art qui se mange: hors-d’oeuvre. p. 13. gervais, lisa-marie.
the link, concordia’s independent newspaper, vol. 20, issue 20, january 25, 2000. breaking the chains: multi-media exhibit irritates and intrigues. grace, anita.
winnipeg free press, january 8, 1997. pregnancy transformation captured: video talk more revealing than nude pose. prokosh, kevin.
hour, montéal’s news and entertainment weekly, vol. 4, no. 21, may 23-29, 1996. pregnant causes: karen spencer’s strong enough is ripe with speculation. p. 28. catchlove, lucinda.
arts atlantic, fall, 1988, symbols and apparitions: paul miller and karen spencer. p. 26- 27. pope, robert.
vanguard, april/may, 1986. seeing art in nova scotia: ecphore and innova. p. 23-26. townsend-gault, charlotte.
catalogues, brochures, books
what happens when nothing happens, malo, veronique, mennerdahl, emily, the independant study group (isg). stockholm, sweden. (2009) 52p. isbn 978 91 633 4838 9. 14 x 9 cm. booklet.
orange 2006, como como. babin,sylvette, et al. st-hyacinthe, québec. : orange, l’évenément d’art actuel de saint-hyacinthe, et expression, centre d’exposition de saint-hyacinthe, (2008) 159p. isbn 9 782922 326581. hard cover book. what-do-artist-eat-catalogue-text-by-sylvette-babin-orange-canada-2008-1
lobe résidence programmation 2006 – 2007. bouchard, carl, bouchard, claude, caron, jean-françois, therrien, geneviéve. chicoutimi, québec. : le lobe, (2007)
micheline durocher/karen spencer: tit sucker. bourgeois, gail. toronto, ontario. : gallery 44. (2003) 2p. : 4 ill. , 21 x 14 cm. exhibition pamphlet.
articule : 2001-2000. balcaen, jo-anne; brewer, allan; brewer william. montréal, québec. : articule, (2002) 25p. : 17 ill., 23 x 19 cm + 5 livrets. exhibition catalogue.
skol 1999 – 2000. trahan, carl; nincas, anne-marie. karen spencer vérifiez que, texte de alexandria pierce. montréal, québec. : centre des arts actuels skol, (2003) 13 vol., 4p. chacun : 33 ill. ; 23 x 22 cm. exhibition brochures.
ace art inc. : programming. woodbury, jennifer. winnipeg, manitoba. : ace art (1997) 38. p. : 35 ill. ; 23 x 10 cm. exhibition catalogue.
fertile ground. allen, jan; spencer, karen; reid, leslie. kingston, ontario. agnes ethrington art centre, (1966) 24. p. : 11 ill. (1o col.) 26 x 21 cm. isbn 0 88911 7365. exhibition catalogue.
paul miller, karen spencer : symbols and apparitions. townsend-gault, charlotte. halifax, novia scotia. : the art gallery, mount saint vincent university, (1988) 8p. : 5 ill. ; 28 cm. isbn 0 770306292. exhibition catalogue.
published writing
suzanne joly: no apologies, caught in the act: an anthology of performance art by canadian women, tanya mars and johanna householder eds., toronto, yyz books, 2004, pp. 271-279.
malperformer l’autorité: nourriture et pouvoir, dans esse arts + opinions, dossier nourritures, hiver. 2004, n°50, trans. isabelle chagnon, pp. 42-46.
à propos de black market, dans esse arts + opinions, dossier citoyen “volontaire”, printemps – été, 2003, n°48, trans. isabelle chagnon, pp. 61-63.
egg-shell white to burgundy to lime, catherine bodmer échantillons, plein-sud opuscule, 2003. trans. blanc cassé au bougogne au vert jaune by susanne de lotbinière-harwood.
éric létourneau – détourner le norme, dans esse arts + opinions, autour de mémoire vive, hiver 2003, n°47, trans. isabelle chagnon, pp. 48-51.
document …or die (excerpts from), the magazine, slaps-banks-plots, issue #6, performance and photography, 2002. www.asa.de/magazine/index.htm
one page 4 boris, the magazine, slaps-banks-plots, issue #6, performance and photography, 2002. www.asa.de/magazine/index.htm
attester…ou mourir, dans esse arts + opinions, dossier balayage: un regard sur la vidéo, automne 2002, n°46, trans. isabelle chagnon, pp. 62-64.
brouiller les frontières, dans esse arts + opinions, dossier image extrême, hiver 2002 n°44, trans. isabelle chagnon, pp. 16 -21.
les 12 heures de rachel echenberg: la présence comme acte de foi, dans esse arts + opinions, dossier immatérialités, automne 2001 n°43, trans. isabelle chagnon, pp. 63-65.
nope…she ain’t comin’ home for supper, in pink link ou la proposition rose: le mois de la performance, la centrale, 2001, pp. 29-36.
