Residency #136
FEBRUARY 15 - MARCH 7
(Application Deadline: October 23, 2009)

JEAN-MARC BUSTAMANTE, visual arts

Jean-Marc Bustamante was born in Toulouse, France in 1952 to a South American father and an English mother. In the late 1970s, after a period of assisting photographer William Klein, Bustamante changed the perception of photography in French art with his monumental Tableaux, a series of photos of the Barcelona region that blurred the boundary between painting and photography. After his four year collaboration with sculptor Bernard Bazile (1983-87), Bustamante continued extending his practice to media other than photography. His work is the perfect synthesis where past experiences merge, embodying different artistic languages that melt in a new and personal visual language. The works depict mental landscapes with a strong poetical impact. His recent works on Plexiglas explore a new way of painting, going further into his research with light and color.

In 2008, Jean-Marc Bustamante was awarded the medal of the Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur, and in 2003 he represented France in the 50th Venice Biennale. His work was included Documenta VIII in 1987, Documenta IX in 1992 and Documenta X in 1997. Recent solo exhibitions include Pedigree at Galeria Filomena Soares, Lisbon, 2009; Jean-Marc Bustamante: Lava II, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, 2008; Le Grand Tour, MAC’s Grand Hernu, 2008; Jean-Marc Bustamante: La Chambre des Saintes, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris, 2008, and L’horizon chimérique (with Ed Ruscha), Musée d’art contemporain de Strasbourg, 2007. He lives and works in Paris.

Residency statement

I would like to work with artists in any media, who are very open and curious to explore new fields. As a French/European artist I can bring different points of view and a fresh approach about what is Art today. I also believe that the 3 weeks of this residency is an opportunity to go deeper and create good relationships through individual and groups conversations. I hope my position and experience give me enough enabling to help younger emerging artists in their research and development.

Application requirement

Applicants should submit a biography and documentations about their works (CD, DVD, PowerPoint, etc). A residence like this one is a crossroads, an opportunity to confront human experiences directed by the passion of Art. Concerning the practice, it seems important to me to realize a project during the residence. The point is not to create a "master piece" but to analyze the process - as in a "making of a movie" – exploring the process and questions around the piece, from its conception until the final presentation.