Jean-Marc Bustamante "Jean-Marc Bustamante"

‘At a time when artists approach the interior space in a new and different way, the work of Jean-Marc Bustamante has assumed a special position. By being too far removed from tradition to be regarded as sculpture yet not identifiable enough to be associated with existing objects, his forms succeed in evading both these categories. A piece of blue glass measuring three and a half by two and a half metres and placed on the floor seems to delineate the contours of a swimming pool yet is so flat that the association remains literally superficial. A set of shelves bears dozens of pieces of mirror glass which are lined up like books and reflect the light obliquely: the title inventory emphasizes the reflective and all- encompassing. A wooden frame contains a piece of Japanese silk wallpaper, its horizontal form gives it a sense of landscape but the references to the interior space transform the view into a feeling of introspection. These references to the 'interior' with its double meaning of what is directed inwards and of domestic interiors are frequently present in Bustamante's work yet are never intrusive or importunate. By carefully choosing and placing the works he imbues locations with a sense of the interior, locations that do not naturally possess that quality. Hence. 'habiter le lieu' (Bustamante) is an active concept and means inhabiting the place. His work also has more narrative aspects: photography has always occupied an important place. A number of found photographs which have been silk-screened onto large plates of glass in soft grey tones are called Lumieres and function as mental pictures: landscapes of memory whose transparency has rendered them into projections onto the white walls. Here too, the images refer back to the domestic interior and to reflection. For Bustamante conceiving this exhibition for De Appel meant carefully selecting works that were both attuned to each other and mutually articulating. When combined they form ‘ensembles', a language of its own where notions such as surface, reflection, projection and memory are expressed at their most personal.’ (Invitation text by Saskia Bos)

Catalogue: Jean-Marc Bustamante, 1990. Text Saskia Bos. Dutch & English. Biography. 16 pp. 7 duotone. 26.5 x 30 cm. Soft cover. Design Irma Boom. ISBN 90 73501 03 2. SOLD OUT