Timothy Taylor Gallery is proud to present an exhibition of new work by Jean-Marc Bustamante. For his third solo exhibition at the Timothy Taylor Gallery, Jean-Marc will exhibit a series of jewel-like, sculptural plexiglass objects which were first shown earlier this year in the ground-breaking exhibition –beautifuldays- at KUB Kunsthaus Bregenz, Austria. Jean-Marc has also created ‘Contraposto II’, a previously unseen sculpture of galvanized steel with ink on plexiglass.
“The elements cut out of the material also form impediments or passages for the obstructed gaze that collides…with printing inks on Perspex, that throws light back at us like a delicious pain. The paradox of the reflecting materials, the sand-blasted steel, perspexy-sexy with its transparency and curved highlights.” Jean-Marc Bustamante
A series of ‘Trophées’ will form a major part of the exhibition. Operating simultaneously as painting and relief sculpture, free-hand forms are cut out of steel plates, opening up to reveal a brilliant surface of underlying coloured Perspex, creating deep pools of reflection. Diverse materials are used to capture light to be either reflected or absorbed. Further works titled ‘Panorama’ and ‘Perfect Dream’, utilise the same method of silkscreen printed on plexiglass to achieve bold, abstract yet familiar images. ‘Panorama Okinawa’, (2005), evokes a tropical landscape and ‘Panorama Lion’, (2005) suggests the mane of a lion. Surfaces vacillate between being opaque and transparent. Colours entice, yet remain intangible.
In the late 1970’s Jean-Marc changed the perception of photography in French art with his monumental ‘Tableaux’ blurring the boundary between painting and photography. Following his 1983-87 collaboration with Bernard Bazile, his practice became yet more complex with an exploration of the relationship between photography and sculpture, and between photography and painting. When chosen to represent France at the 2003 Venice Biennale, Jean-Marc explored these three media in more depth with his Sérigraphiés on plexiglass, juxtaposed with photographs and sculpture. For this solo exhibition at the Timothy Taylor Gallery in 2006, the artist continues to push the boundaries between the three disciplines which fascinate him and challenge the viewer.
Jean-Marc Bustamante has been included in numerous international group exhibitions, including Documenta VIII in 1987, Documenta IX in 1992, Documenta X in 1997. Major solo exhibitions have included Paysages, Intérieurs, Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris (1990), A World at a Time, Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg (1994), Lent Retour, Galerie Nationale du Jeu de Paume Paris (1996), Something is Missing, Tate Gallery (1998), Retrospective de L’Oeuvre Photographique, Centre National de la Photographie, Paris, France (1999), Long-Playing, Diechtorhallen, Hamburg, Germany (2001), Private Crossing, Yokohama Museum of Art, Japan (2002), CASA Centro de Arte de Salamanca, Spain (2003), Pavilion des Amazones, Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy (2003) and –beautifuldays-, Kunsthaus Bregenz, Austria (2006).
This exhibition is part of ‘Paris Calling’, a season of Contemporary art from France initiated by the French Embassy and the Afaa/ Culturesfrance.
The gallery address is 24 Dering Street, London W1S 1TT and is open Mon-Fri, 10–6pm; Sat 10–1pm. For information and images please contact Lee Johnson on 00 44 (0) 20 7409 33 44 or [email protected]
