The artwork for the exterior of The Quad was created by renowned Montreal artist, Nicolas Baier. It represents a network, a weaving, branching system that simultaneously evokes references to Ivy League university buildings, and cutting edge scientific research, similar to that performed within these same campuses. The artwork draws its inspiration from a classic tree structure, evoking the great tradition of knowledge institutions.

More specifically the depicted networks describe branches of ivy, the shape of a super cluster of galaxies and the human neuronal network, expressed through a progressive multiplication of metaphorical references. The reticular system will transform into a galactic super cluster, dendrites, the vectors describing the planes of a crystal, and the easily recognized organic growth of vines or ivy.

These networks will be engraved, through very precise lines that will be engraved into the aluminum panels which form the skin of the building.

With this work, Nicolas seeks to address the fact that everything – ourselves and everything around us – branches out. Everything is interconnected. Art and science have always been tied together as they advance. The great scientific revolutions have often coincided with great artistic periods. These two creative fields of endeavour are really one, in their pursuit of understanding and explaining the realities of the world.

The artwork for The Quad is part of a continuum of Nicolas’ personal creative explorations while belonging to the great tradition of universities, such as York University, and to certain recent discoveries that have helped better interpret the world and the understanding of ourselves.

Often described as a collagiste, Nicolas Baier uses digital imaging technologies to compose photographic images inspired by the places where he lives, and the places his life passed through. His work can be found in public and private collections worldwide, including those of the Art Gallery of Ontario, the National Gallery of Canada, and the Harvard Business School’s Schwartz Collection.

Nicolas lives and works in Montreal, Canada.