Lili Bernard

ARTIST STATEMENT:
I create narrative artwork that chronicles sexual, racial and domestic violence, in a collision of cruelty against compassion. Autobiographical anecdotes of childhood abuse, adult rape and suicide attempts intertwine with sociocultural struggles of my Caribbean immigrant family and ancestors, mirrored in contemporary American life. Afro-Cuban religious iconography and history tether together survivorship stories of the past and present. The unconquerable nature of the human spirit reigns over the impact of trauma.

BIO:
LILI BERNARD is a Cuban-born, Los Angeles-based interdisciplinary artist of mixed African, Caribbean, European and Chinese descent. Her work examines issues of sexism, racism and trauma. A mother of six whom she birthed in a ten-year span, Lili is an award-winning exhibiting fine artist, actor, published writer, independent curator, educator, community organizer, public speaker and founder of BAILA: Black Artists in Los Angeles. Raised predominantly in Princeton, Jct., New Jersey, and a graduate of The American School in Japan where she spent 11th and 12th grade, Lili attended Cornell University and The City University of New York, earning a B.A. in German. She received her MFA in Visual Ar...

MFA Otis College of Art and Design
BA City University of New York
Cornell University

SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2020
Lili Bernard: Orishas Through Afro-Cuban American Eyes (solo show), stARTup Art Fair Los Angeles
2020 Vision: Prophecy Manifested, Mujeres de Maíz, Self Help Graphics, Los Angeles, CA
What She Said, ACE/121 Gallery, Glendale, CA
Viva La Vulva, 111 Minna Gallery, San Francisco, CA
Breathe/Breath, SEER Gallery Ltd, Los Angeles, CA
2019
Goddesses and Gods, Coagula Curatorial, Los Angeles, CA
Black Brown and Beige, Self-Help Graphics, Los Angeles, CA
Some Blakkity Black Stuff, Kamikaze Pop-up, Los Angeles, CA
Care Complicity Critique, Contemporary Irish Arts Center Los Angeles, CA
2018
Viva La Vulva, Ren Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
South of the Border, Loft at Liz’s, Pacific Standard Time Getty Initiative Exhibit, Los Angeles, CA
Black Dreams Matter, The Whole 9 Gallery, Culver City, CA
Creative Souls, Watts Towers Arts Center, Los Angeles, CA
2017
Lili Bernard: Antebellum Appropriations (solo show), Museum of the African Diaspora, San Francisco
Sweet Sticky Things, Launch Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Black Woman is God: Divine Revolution, SOMArts, San Francisco, CA
Iconic Black Panther, Gregorio Escalante Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Static, Durden and Ray Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
With Justice & L...