Immediately’s Artist Highlight options the cardboard sculpture and paper cuttings of Joanathan Bessaci, a French artist primarily based in Washington, D.C. His work is on show on the revered Lucca Biennale Cartasia, underway in Tuscany, Italy by September 29, 2024. I requested Joanathan to inform us concerning the exceptional expertise of being a selected participant.
“I’m honored to have been doubly chosen for the Lucca Biennale, the place
I’m exhibiting a sequence of portraits and have additionally been awarded a
one-month residency. The Lucca Biennale Cartasia, which has existed for
20 years, brings collectively the best artists working with paper and
cardboard. I used to be chosen from over 4,000 individuals to exhibit my works and likewise to take part within the residency.
At 44, with
greater than 23 years of expertise, Lucca represents a turning level for
me: both the top of my profession or a renewal. Over 24 days, I created a
monumental piece titled “The Leap of Need: The Quest of the Squirrel,”
linked to the theme “Right here and Now: Tomorrow,” which resonates with my
fixed feeling of an absence of time.
For this work, I used a sizzling
glue gun, a cutter, and a ruler. The workshop, a former market corridor of
over a thousand sq. meters, imposed a sustained rhythm on me, with
nine-hour days with out breaks, apart from half-hour reserved for consuming
and observing my work.
My sculpting methodology could be very private and
consists of three steps: I create a construction from strips of cardboard
with out fastened proportions, the whole lot is completed by eye. For this piece, I
added an inside steel construction for stability, primarily based on the size
of my mannequin. Then, I cowl the work with cardboard, reinforce the
construction, and add colours and messages from coloured cardboard. For the
first time, I needed to waterproof my work so it might keep exterior for
three months.
This problem was important: making a sculpture
over 5 meters excessive and greater than 6 meters lengthy in lower than 210 hours.
Ultimately, I noticed that this work represents me. I’m like this
playful and hyperactive animal. I found that I used to be not alone in
affected by loneliness and that I had discovered friendship, love, and
help.
The bonds shaped in the course of the Biennale are robust, as we fought
our personal limits and labored collectively to attain this problem. I discovered my
place and found a brand new world that I intend to discover additional.
Beforehand, I labored solely with artwork galleries, however now I need to
take part in competitions and residencies, meet different artists and
fanatics.
I need to present who I’m, reveal the artist in me, share my
expertise, and talk my love for my artwork, this ardour that drives me.”
4 of Joanathan’s advanced, layered Michelin highway map papercuttings are additionally on show. This side of his artwork was featured beforehand on All Issues Paper.
Joanathan’s web site is bessaci.com. He’s on Instagram, @joanathan.bessaci.
