06/10/2023
Daniel Jude Bernier
October 24, 1962 – May 6, 2023
Dan was born and raised in Buffalo, NY, the second child of Leon and Emma Bernier. He attended the University of Chicago before transferring to Bennington College in Vermont, later completing graduate studies at USC. Relocating to the Los Angeles area in the late 1980s, Dan championed the nascent LA art underground, and as a defining arbiter of taste helped establish the city’s place as an international contender in the market writ large. Shows curated at his galleries inspired the coming generation of talent, dealers and collectors, setting a precedent for fearless reconsideration of paradigm and scope. As a licensed commercial real estate broker, Dan helped create thousands of units of affordable housing and spearheaded the development of Koreatown’s historic Hotel Normandie compound, the 6150 Wilshire and Cottage Home Gallery projects, both the KChung Radio and Sun Mun Way loft structures in Chinatown, as well as the revitalized Figueroa corridor of Highland Park. Dan died unexpectedly of apparent heart failure at his home in Eagle Rock (LA), and is survived by his two sons, Lewis and Maurice, his wife Rebecca, his mother and his sister Mary Anne Dreher, as well as the countless friends he blessed with his indefatigable love and support. A Celebration of Dan’s Life is planned for Saturday, August 5, with details to follow. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation in his Memory to Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), an international grassroots network of animal rights activists operating out of a central Bay Area location for which Dan conducted all legal and property elements https://www.directactioneverywhere.com/.
