Josue Bessiake
he/him
josuebessiake.com
@josuebessiake
Assembled Remains (2024)
Wooden assemblage with found objects
Artist Statement
I make work because I have to.
My work explores the presence of a body through its interaction with an object. It is a call and response between myself and my subjects and a question of whether or not an object is defined by its function. I employ painting, drawing, and sculpture, as devices to examine how the body can impart an object or a space with history.
Painting and drawing become a means of recording. I arrive at an image using a build-up and removal of marks. Each brushstroke is a depiction of light going across a form. Each distinct line is notetaking how a subject activates a space and a search for its significance. Sculpture deconstructs, and reconstructs a form as a means of research. These mediums delineate how the body interacts with objects not merely as separate entities but as extensions of our lived experiences.
Artist Bio
Josue Bessiake is an African American visual artist whose work is heavily influenced by the structure of his environment Josue Bessiake received his BFA from Montserrat College of Art in Beverly, MA. He recently completed an artist residency at the Chautauqua School of Visual Arts. He was an artist in residence at the University of the Bahamas where he exhibited his work and presented an artist talk at the National Gallery of the Bahamas as part of his residency. Bessiake is a recipient of the William and Ruth Fusco Prize to Encourage Artistic Achievement from Montserrat College of Art and a finalist for the AXA Art Prize at the New York Academy of Art. Recent exhibitions include In Shallow Waters, Nassau Bahamas, Fresh Faces at Abigail Ogilvy Gallery, Boston, H301 at Gallery Kayafas, Boston and A Bird’s Last Look at Gallery NAGA, Boston.