Education
1989/1995
Chelsea Art School foundation, London. England.
BA Sculpture, Kingston University, Kingston-upon Thames, England.
Education
1989/1995
Chelsea Art School foundation, London. England.
BA Sculpture, Kingston University, Kingston-upon Thames, England.
Artist Residency. St Petersburg, Russia.
Specialization glass casting. Farnham University for the Creative Arts (UCA), Surrey, England.
Specialization lost wax casting, Putney Arch foundry, London.
2011-2012 Master of advanced studies in Art and Science (DEA). Dissertation title: "Testimonies and graphic representations of Outside Body Experiences”. Transdisciplinary collaboration: Royal Academy of Arts/ Faculty of Philosophy and Bioethics (HELESI), Louvain/ COMA Science Group, University, Belgium.
ECTS in iconology Dr. Ralph Dekoninck. UCL, Louvain, Belgium.
ECTS in the anthropology of the memory Prof. David Berliner. ULB, Bruxelles, Belgium.
2012-2014 Internship in the Neurology department of Prof. Steven Laureys. Liège University Hospital. Belgium.
2012-2016 Ph.D. in Art and Science, Doctorate awarded summa cum laude. Supervisors: Prof. Steven Laureys and Prof. Mylène Botbol-Baum. Thesis title: "Near-death experiences states, matters of displacement (e-motion, creation, reparation)".
2018 Neuroanatomy, semester 1. Feinberg Graduate School, Weizmann Institute of Science.
2018 Motor control: from computations to neurobiology, semester 2. Feinberg Graduate School, Weizmann Institute.
2017- to the present: Postdoctoral Fellowship, Supervisor Prof. Tamar Flash. Moross Laboratory for Vision Research & Robotics and Virtual Reality Weizmann Institute. Rehovot, Israel.
Academic appointments
2004-2010 Lecturer position in Inclusive Design Department, Hadassah academic college, Jerusalem, Israel.
2004-2006 External examiner final art show, Israel Art and Science school of excellence (IASA).
2005-2007 Lecturer position in Interactive Communication, Hadassah Academic College. Jerusalem, Israel.
Seminar lectures
March 2006: "Pandora's box" . Musrara mix International Festival, Jerusalem, Israel.
April 2007:” Representations of the Holocaust in contemporary art", Kiriyat Moriah. Jerusalem Israel.
February 2012: "intertextuality in contemporary art". School of Visual Arts "La Cambre". Bruxelles, Belgium.
June 2013: "Art and altered states of consciousness", IEPSCF, Rixensart, Belgium.
2013-2014 Lucid lab for user cognition & innovative design. Interface for Sketsha software. Liège, Belgium.
April 2014 Heller Lecture Series in Computational Neuroscience: "The brain behind morality". Prof. Patricia Churchland Smith. Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, Hebrew University. Jerusalem, Israel.
March 2014 Hand-on workshop in brain-computer interface (BCI) spelling-300, g-tec medical engineering, Austria.
2015 Seminar Art and Technology; setting-up of mixed research team artists & scientists for nanotechnology projects development. Center for Nanoscience Nanotechnology, Givat Ram, Jerusalem. Israel.
2015 Guest visitor of Prof. Sarah Eyal, Laboratory of pharmacy-institute drug research, Hadassah Hospital. Jerusalem, Israel.
2015 Radio talk show on "Reshet bet", in Hebrew.
2015 Radio talk show on "Kol Israel", in French.
June 2016 Laboratory talk in Prof. Shahar Arzy computational neuropsychiatry laboratory, School of medicine Hadassah Ein Kerem, Jerusalem, Israel.
March 2017 13th Karniel Computational Motor Control Workshop. Beersheba University, Israel.
November 2018 Stanley Auction, lot 53. Gazette Drouot (catalog).https://www.gazette-drouot.com/lots/9553221
2018 Stanley Auction: lot 50, 51, 53. (Drouot invaluable).https://www.invaluable.com/artist/lerner-france-vfgon4sr44/sold-at-auction-prices/
March 2019 ( Drouot online invaluable) De Baecque & Associés. Lyon, France. https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/art-moderne-et-contemporain-france-lerner-nee-e-426-c-46140e3893
July 2018 VECTOR Workshop on Virtual environment and current psychological research workshop. Tubingen University, Germany.
March 2019 Virtual and Robotic embodiment from neuroscience to virtual reality and robotics. Barcelona University, Spain.
July 2019 International conference on virtual rehabilitation. Hands-on workshop: "The role of mental imagery in virtual rehabilitation" by Eric Franklin and Amit Abraham.
Dec 16-18 2019 Brain Music Cognition Conference ELSC Building, The Hebrew University, Edmond J. Safra Campus, ירושלים, Jerusalem, Israel.
Artist Residency. St Petersburg, Russia.
Specialization glass casting. Farnham University for the Creative Arts (UCA), Surrey, England.
Specialization lost wax casting, Putney Arch foundry, London.
2011-2012 Master of advanced studies in Art and Science (DEA). Dissertation title: "Testimonies and graphic representations of Outside Body Experiences”. Transdisciplinary collaboration: Royal Academy of Arts/ Faculty of Philosophy and Bioethics (HELESI), Louvain/ COMA Science Group, University, Belgium.
ECTS in iconology Dr. Ralph Dekoninck. UCL, Louvain, Belgium.
ECTS in the anthropology of the memory Prof. David Berliner. ULB, Bruxelles, Belgium.
2012-2014 Internship in the Neurology department of Prof. Steven Laureys. Liège University Hospital. Belgium.
2012-2016 Ph.D. in Art and Science, Doctorate awarded summa cum laude. Supervisors: Prof. Steven Laureys and Prof. Mylène Botbol-Baum. Thesis title: "Near-death experiences states, matters of displacement (e-motion, creation, reparation)".
2018 Neuroanatomy, semester 1. Feinberg Graduate School, Weizmann Institute of Science.
2018 Motor control: from computations to neurobiology, semester 2. Feinberg Graduate School, Weizmann Institute.
2017- to the present: Postdoctoral Fellowship, Supervisor Prof. Tamar Flash. Moross Laboratory for Vision Research & Robotics and Virtual Reality Weizmann Institute. Rehovot, Israel.
Academic appointments
2004-2010 Lecturer position in Inclusive Design Department, Hadassah academic college, Jerusalem, Israel.
2004-2006 External examiner final art show, Israel Art and Science school of excellence (IASA).
2005-2007 Lecturer position in Interactive Communication, Hadassah Academic College. Jerusalem, Israel.
Seminar lectures
March 2006: "Pandora's box" . Musrara mix International Festival, Jerusalem, Israel.
April 2007:” Representations of the Holocaust in contemporary art", Kiriyat Moriah. Jerusalem Israel.
February 2012: "intertextuality in contemporary art". School of Visual Arts "La Cambre". Bruxelles, Belgium.
June 2013: "Art and altered states of consciousness", IEPSCF, Rixensart, Belgium.
2013-2014 Lucid lab for user cognition & innovative design. Interface for Sketsha software. Liège, Belgium.
April 2014 Heller Lecture Series in Computational Neuroscience: "The brain behind morality". Prof. Patricia Churchland Smith. Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, Hebrew University. Jerusalem, Israel.
March 2014 Hand-on workshop in brain-computer interface (BCI) spelling-300, g-tec medical engineering, Austria.
2015 Seminar Art and Technology; setting-up of mixed research team artists & scientists for nanotechnology projects development. Center for Nanoscience Nanotechnology, Givat Ram, Jerusalem. Israel.
2015 Guest visitor of Prof. Sarah Eyal, Laboratory of pharmacy-institute drug research, Hadassah Hospital. Jerusalem, Israel.
2015 Radio talk show on "Reshet bet", in Hebrew.
2015 Radio talk show on "Kol Israel", in French.
June 2016 Laboratory talk in Prof. Shahar Arzy computational neuropsychiatry laboratory, School of medicine Hadassah Ein Kerem, Jerusalem, Israel.
March 2017 13th Karniel Computational Motor Control Workshop. Beersheba University, Israel.
November 2018 Stanley Auction, lot 53. Gazette Drouot (catalog).https://www.gazette-drouot.com/lots/9553221
2018 Stanley Auction: lot 50, 51, 53. (Drouot invaluable).https://www.invaluable.com/artist/lerner-france-vfgon4sr44/sold-at-auction-prices/
March 2019 ( Drouot online invaluable) De Baecque & Associés. Lyon, France. https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/art-moderne-et-contemporain-france-lerner-nee-e-426-c-46140e3893
July 2018 VECTOR Workshop on Virtual environment and current psychological research workshop. Tubingen University, Germany.
March 2019 Virtual and Robotic embodiment from neuroscience to virtual reality and robotics. Barcelona University, Spain.
July 2019 International conference on virtual rehabilitation. Hands-on workshop: "The role of mental imagery in virtual rehabilitation" by Eric Franklin and Amit Abraham.
Dec 16-18 2019 Brain Music Cognition Conference ELSC Building, The Hebrew University, Edmond J. Safra Campus, ירושלים, Jerusalem, Israel.
Education
1989-1995
Chelsea Art School foundation, London. England.
BA Sculpture, Kingston University, Kingston-upon Thames, England.
Artist Residency. St Petersburg, Russia.
Specialization glass casting. Farnham University for the Creative Arts (UCA), Surrey, England.
Specialization lost wax casting, Putney Arch foundry, London.
2010-2012
Master of advanced studies in Art and Science (DEA).
Dissertation title: "Testimonies and graphic representations of Outside Body Experiences”. Transdisciplinary collaboration:
Royal Academy of Arts / Faculty of Philosophy and Bioethics (HELESI), Louvain University / COMA Science Group, Belgium.
ECTS in iconology with Dr. Ralph Dekoninck. UCL, Louvain, Belgium.
ECTS in the anthropology of memory with Prof. David Berliner. ULB, Bruxelles, Belgium.
2012-2017
2012-2014 Internship in the Neurology department of Prof. Steven Laureys. Liège University Hospital. Belgium.
Ph.D. in Art and Science, Doctorate awarded summa cum laude. Supervisors: Prof. Steven Laureys and Prof. Mylène Botbol-Baum.
Thesis title: "Near-death experiences states, matters of displacement (e-motion, creation, reparation)".
Link PhD: https://dial.uclouvain.be/pr/boreal/object/boreal:174660
2018-2022
2018 Neuroanatomy, semester 1. Feinberg Graduate School, Weizmann Institute of Science.
2018 Motor control: from computations to neurobiology, semester 2. Feinberg Graduate School, Weizmann Institute of Science.
2017- 2023: Postdoctoral Fellowship, Supervisor Prof. Tamar Flash.
Moross Laboratory for Vision Research & Robotics and Virtual Reality, Weizmann Institute of Science. Rehovot, Israel.
2020-2022: Recipient of the Braginsky Center grant for the interface between Science and the Humanities, Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel.
2023-2025
Recipient of the Beijing Natural Science Foundation (BJNSF).
Academic appointments
2004-2010: Lecturer position in Inclusive Design Department, Hadassah academic college, Jerusalem, Israel.
2004-2006 :External examiner final art show, Israel Art and Science school of excellence (IASA).
2005-2007: Lecturer position in Interactive Communication, Hadassah Academic College. Jerusalem, Israel.
2023- to present: Assistant Professor at Beijing Institute of Mathematical sciences and Applications (BIMSA), Yanqi Lake , Beijing , China.
Teaching
• Spring 2025: "Neuroaesthetics and Generative AI in Scientific Visualization: Theories and Applications", graduate course in BIMSA.
• Fall 2024: "Embodied Learning in XR Technologies applied to Mathematics", graduate course in BIMSA.
• 2023-2024: "Theoretical Foundations of Neuroaesthetics Applied to Scientific Representations via Generative AI Models and XR Technologies" two-semester graduate course in BIMSA.
• 2004-2010: “ Inclusive Industrial Design”, undergraduate course in Hadassah Academic College.
• 2005-2007: “ Interactive Communication”, undergraduate course in Hadassah Academic College.
Other
• 2021-2022: Volunteered with “Road to Recovery”, an organization that provides transportation for Palestinian children and their families from checkpoints to hospitals in Israel for medical treatment.
• 2002-2010: Primary caregiver for my child, Alma, who was diagnosed with neuroblastoma. Developed resilience, crisis management skills, and the ability to navigate complex medical systems while balancing personal and professional responsibilities.
Seminar & Lectures
June 2006: "Pandora's box" . Musrara mix International Festival, Jerusalem, Israel.
April 2007:” Representations of the Holocaust in contemporary art", Kiriyat Moriah. Jerusalem Israel.
February 2012: "intertextuality in contemporary art". School of Visual Arts "La Cambre". Bruxelles, Belgium.
June 2013: "Art and altered states of consciousness", IEPSCF, Rixensart, Belgium.
2013-2014 :
Lucid lab for user cognition & innovative design. Design of an Interface for Sketsha software. Liège, Belgium.
April 2014 Heller Lecture Series in Computational Neuroscience: "The brain behind morality".
Prof. Patricia Churchland Smith. Edmond & Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, Hebrew University. Jerusalem, Israel.
March 2014 Hand-on workshop in brain-computer interface (BCI) spelling-300, g-tec medical engineering, Austria.
2015 Seminar Art and Technology; setting-up of mixed research team artists & scientists for nanotechnology projects development.
Center for Nanoscience Nanotechnology, Givat Ram. (Jerusalem. Israel).
2015 Guest visitor of Prof. Sarah Eyal, Laboratory of pharmacy-institute of drug research, Hadassah Hospital. (Jerusalem, Israel).
2015 Radio talk show on "Reshet bet", in Hebrew.
2015 Radio talk show on "Kol Israel", in French.
June 2016 Laboratory talk in Prof. Shahar Arzy computational neuropsychiatry laboratory.
(School of medicine Hadassah Ein Kerem, Jerusalem, Israel).
March 2017 13th Karniel Computational Motor Control Workshop. (Beersheba University, Israel).
July 2018 VECTOR Workshop on Virtual environment and current psychological research workshop. (Tubingen University, Germany).
April 2018 Lecture on "Near-Death Experiences Spaces" in Roy Salomon Laboratory Gonda Multidisciplinary Brain Research Center Bar Ilan University.
March 2019 Virtual and Robotic embodiment from neuroscience to virtual reality and robotics. (Barcelona University, Spain).
July 2019 International conference on virtual rehabilitation. Hands-on workshop:
"The role of mental imagery in virtual rehabilitation" by Eric Franklin and Amit Abraham. (Tel- Aviv University, Israel)
December 2019 Brain Music Cognition Conference ELSC Building. The Hebrew University, Edmond J. Safra Campus. (Jerusalem, Israel).
2021: Lecture in the Braginsky Center for the Interface between Science and the Humanities Scholarship. (Rehovot, Israel).
May, 2021 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frvir.2021.644214/full
August 2021 https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1834988/
June, 2022 Lecture on :"Near-Death Experiences Spaces Physical and Self-locations Motions and Emotions" in Liad Mudrik Laboratory. Tel Aviv university.
August-December 2022: CMJ Israel Heritage Center Cultural Project: Digitisation of autochrones (8000) and collection archival .
• 2025 April: Invited Talk at the Intangible Realities Lab, University of Santiago de Compostela (Lab Website) on the "Spatio-Temporal Configuration of Transcendental Experiences" .
Exhibitions & Awards
Solo exhibitions
1994 France Lerner: "Shipwreck of the thought". University of Kingston upon Thames, England.
November 1996 France Lerner: " Tearing", (booklet by Laurent Cohen). Jerusalem Theather. Jerusalem, Israel.
1996 France Lerner: "Coal", photo exhibition. Holocaust Memorial Museum Library. Washington DC. USA.
1996 France Lerner: "Coal", sculpture installation, (booklet by Mr. Jacques Lepage. French Judaism Foundation, Place St Georges, Paris. France.
1996 France Lerner: " Villa de Noailles", (catalog preface by François Carassan). Hyères, France.
1998 France Lerner: "Light and skin", Rachi space. Paris, France.
2003 Grant recipient from the European Association for Jewish Culture.
2004 France Lerner: " Sacrifice without an offering". Gallery Robert Vallois, St Germain, Paris. France. (Catalogue preface by Prof. Eric Marty).
2008 France Lerner: " Protected spaces MIR". Gallery Nachson. Curator Mrs. Yael Kaeni, (booklet by Dr.Eli Weisstub).
2011 France Lerner: " Topography of the bond when the dead seizes the living". Video screening 24mn. Bruxelles Royal Academy of Arts. Belgium.
July 2015 Museum on the seam Socio-Political Contemporary Art Museum. Exhibition and gallery talk: "Architecture of Near-death experiences".
In collaboration with Romain Gary French Institute. Jerusalem, Israel.
2016 France Lerner:" Near-death experiences Spatio-temporal, affective and cognitive representations". Screening room of Louvain Audio-Visual Center
(CAV). Louvain, Belgium.
2025 (April-May); Solo Photographer Exhibition, See+ Gallery, 798 Art Zone , Beijing and Shenzhen, China. ( link for the catalogue download)
Selected group shows & Collaboration
1994 Kingston Fine Art Show. Hungarian University of Fine Arts. (Budapest, Hungary).
1994 Curtain Road Gallery. (London, England).
1994 White Night festival of St Petersburg: Art/Music with Mr. Yuri Kassyanik, Russia.
1995 Espace Pierre Cardin: France Lerner and Gilles Delmas, (curator Mr. André Parinaud). Paris, France.
1995 Enter the private art collection of Mr. André Parinaud (Paris, France).
1996 Writing of the script for Gilles Delmas short movie: "Leda and the swan". https://www.dailymotion.com/video/xcxqtl
1996 Gallery La Tournelle: exhibition Gilles Delmas and France Lerner. (Poët Laval commandery. Drôme, France).
1998 Enter the private art collection of Mr. Ilan Shabtai. (Jerusalem, Israel).
1998 French Jewish National Foundation David de Rothschild. Prize awards Julien and Stella Rozan. Paris, France.
1999 Gallery Alexandre de la Salles: " Victims and persecutors". (St Paul de Vence, France).
2000 Enter the private art collection of Mr. Beno Kalev. (Tel-Aviv, Israel).
2001 Enter the private art collection of Mr. G. Braun, I. Kugler. (Tel-Aviv, Israel).
2002 Enter the public art collection of Israel Museum. (Jerusalem, Israel).
2003 Katharina Maria Raab Gallery. (Berlin, Germany).
2003 Prize award of the Alliance Israélite Universelle (Jewish European fund, Paris, France).
2005 Monart Museum: " In and out", curator Mr. Yona Fisher. (Ashdod. Israel).
2008: " Fresh Paint", Contemporary Israel Art Biennale. (Jerusalem, Israel).
2008 Baumann prize award by the French Jewish Foundation. (Paris, France).
2008: "Ha Challalit", (curator Mrs. Maya Shimony). (Tel-Aviv, Israel).
2009 Gallery Artneuland: " Art of emergency", a joint group of Jewish and Arab artists. (Berlin, Germany).
2010 Pardes Institute of Contemporary Art Group sow: Anselm Kiefer, Jiri Kolar, France Lerner. (Venice, Italy).
(Catalog text by Dr. Nadine Shenkar).
2010 Dwek Gallery of the Konrad Adenauer Center, curator Mrs. Irena Gordon. (Mishkenot Sha'ananim. Jerusalem, Israel).
2014: " Serendipité", DAM Gallery, Bruxelles Royal Academy of Arts. (Bruxeles, Belgium).
2015 Production of video-dance with the participation of the dancers Mrs. Flora Gaudin and Mr. Gabriel Forestieri
(3D, thermal video). Bruxelles, Belgium).
2015 July: Museum on the seam Socio-Political Contemporary: "Architecture of Near-death experiences". In collaboration with Romain Gary Cultural French Institute. Jerusalem, Israel.
2016: "Near-death experiences Spatio-temporal, affective and cognitive representations". Louvain Audio Visual Center, Belgium.
2025 April-May : Photography Solo Exhibition See+ gallery, 798 Art zone Beijing & Shenzhen, China. Catalogue of the exhibition :
Online- Auction
2018 Stanley Auction: lot 50, 51, 53. (Drouot invaluable).
https://www.invaluable.com/artist/lerner-france-vfgon4sr44/sold-at-auction-prices/
March 2019 (Drouot online invaluable) De Baecque & Associés. Lyon, France.
2021 Stanley Auction, lot 55 . Gazette Drouot (catalog).
https://www.artfoxlive.com/product/6627006.html
2022 From March 27th- April 10th Stanley Auction sale of France Lerner photography serie untitled "Jerusalem: Meurtriere".(30 lots),
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1J5a1qcm5AIfbdBjK1RNY-K5ecLcUAMpp/view?usp=sharing
Current Ongoing Research
• "The Sense of Space, Feelings of Motion, Emotions, and Sensations in NDEs". In collaboration with Bar Ilan University's Cognitive Neurosciences Department (Professor Roy Salomon) and the International Association for Near-Death Studies (IANDS). Data collection : March 2023 to 2025.
• Ongoing collaboration with Professor Ben Thompson (University of Waterloo), an expert in optical physiology, focused on objectifying the visual physiological basis of representations reported by Near-Death Experiencers.
• Collaboration with David Lobser (Profile) on a pilot project to develop a 3D digital version of a questionnaire for Near-Death Experiencers, designed for administration in hospital settings.
• Collaborating with Professor Guillaume Tahar (BIMSA) and Dr. Ben-Michael Kohli (YMSC, Tsinghua University) on the development of a virtual reality application for knot theory, enabling the creation and computation of knots in an immersive environment.
Papers & Art installation in Preparation
• "Extracorporeal affects and related bodily sensations in Near-Death Experiences Spaces." Frontier in Human Neuroscience and Cognitive Neuroscience. Research Topic: “The Brain and the Inner World - A Wide Range of Subjective Experiences”.
• "Time perception of various space-time geometries in virtual reality".
• “Lifeline” sculpture installation in progress, created in collaboration with Sino Sculpture Group, Beijing.