Nicolas Baier, who lives and works in Montréal, holds a bachelor’s degree in visual arts from Concordia University. In 2003, he had a solo exhibition titled Scènes de genre at the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal. On the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of Place Ville Marie, in 2012, he produced Autoportrait. The work, reproducing a meeting room in nickel, was installed under a glass cube on the esplanade of the tower designed by Ieoh Ming Pie. Baier’s works are in numerous private and public collections, including the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal, the Musée des beaux-arts du Québec, and the Canadian Museum of Contemporary Photography.
Artwork description
Measuring 10 x 10 x 10 metres, this is a 3D reproduction of human hemoglobin. The macromolecule is made of reflective stainless steel, composed of about 4500 spheres and almost as many rods, all chosen for their iridescent effect. This enormous structure brings a grandiose space to life, giving the Research Institute a symbol that represents life in its purest form. For the artist, the work evokes, amplifies and poeticizes what goes on here – the good, the real, the essential – serving the purpose of science which is to help, heal and save, as the expression of human knowledge and compassion.