Gonzalo Bénard

Gonzalo Bénard was born in 1969 in Lisbon, Portugal.

He studied photography in Lisbon, and explored other courses like sculpture, drawing, painting and ceramics at the Lisbon Fine Arts University.

Later on he moved to Nepal, where he studied painting and philosophy at a Buddhist monastery. Bénard spent  three years in the Himalayan region. With a Bon community, he was introduced to the traditional Tibetan shamanism, giving him the experience and opportunity to develop his knowledge of spirituality that he required to develop his art practice.

With over 50 exhibitions in his curriculum, Bénard's exhibited in Lisbon, Los Angels, Helsinki among other countries and more recently Toronto.

He published his first book, Mind Power, Shamanism and Consciousness in 2015, based on his own experience with brain death and his recovery with the help of meditation.

Bénard's often lectures about art-photography in several colleges and universities around the world, from Mexico to UK. His on going “B Shot by a Stranger”, a post-photography series focused on loneliness in youth and shot through webcams, has been part of the programs of several courses of photography from Tehran to Manchester, widely spread through articles as well, following his success with the shamanic series “Oneness” that he developed after he overcome is own experience with brain death using only self-portraits to express and heal himself.

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Selected Exhibitions:     

2017    2017 Monochromatic Landscapes, group show, Walnut Contemporary, Toronto, Canada

2017    Space Within, group show, Walnut Contemporary Gallery, Toronto, Canada                                                        2017    Landscapes of Memory,  solo show, Portugal Telecom Foundation, Lisbon, Portugal            

2016    Doors of Anamnesis, Lapa do Lobo Foundation, Nelas, Portugal

2014    The Imaginary Beings, Cascais Cultural Center, Cascais, Portugal        

2013    Nude, Pickpocket Gallery, Lisbon, Portugal          

2013    Post Mortem, Santiago, Chile                                                        

2013    Post Mortem, Ottawa, Canada          

2012    B Shot by a Stranger - Oneness, Galeria Praça das Flores, Lisbon, Portugal

2012    Body Dreams and Silent Skins, Spazio Dual - ArtinPark, Lisbon, Portugal                              

2012    Body Dreams, FIAT, London, UK

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