At the core of my practice is an interest in the structure of things. Put simply, I want to know how things work; I treat my studio like a living laboratory in a process of destruction and repair, the results of which serve as visual documentation of coming to know.
Using the formal concerns of painting, I make use of mark-making and assemblage to arrive at an image or an object that is familiar yet foreign; a moment of deja vu.
Josue Bessiake is an Ivorian-American painter working across media.
Bessiake employs multiple disciplines to investigate the ingredients of a phenomenon. Influenced by his experience as a second-generation immigrant and itinerant upbringing, his work reflects his desire to connect with his environment. In a process involving repurposed material, disassembly, and repair. Bessiake’s work is a collision between the known and unknown, using the methods of painting to fabricate forms with paint, wooden supports, or found objects, making references to scale, memory. and collective consciousness,
Josue Bessiake has presented work at the National Gallery of the Bahamas, Chautauqua School of Visual Arts, and the Charles Wright Museum. Recent Exhibitions include exhibits at The Griffin Museum of Science and Industry, New York Academy of Art, and The Institute for Public Architecture on Governor’s Island, NY. Bessiake was a recent finalist for the AXA Art Prize at the New York Academy of Art and a grant recipient from the Elizabeth Greenshield Foundation.
Contact
Email:
josuebessiake@gmail.com
Instagram:
@josuebessiake