Josué Bessiake | H301
Josue Bessiake is an African American painter working in Beverly, Massachusetts whose work is heavily influenced by his environment. Born to immigrant parents from Côté d'Ivoire, Bessiake grew up primarily in the Midwest. His family moved frequently, allowing him to observe a multitude of settings and environments that have subsequently shaped how he looks at the world. Due in part to his itinerant upbringing, Bessiake is constantly asking how the things he observes can be transformed, or perhaps should they be transformed.
Bessiake is influenced by histories of art as a means to explore his sense of place in the world as an artist. Working primarily from life, he seeks to take up the same space as his subjects. This helps Bessiake to see more deeply and gain a sense of empathy for the people and places he paints. Bessiake’s work ranges from abstract to representational, often depicting his immediate environment, such as his peers, his studio, hallways, and everyday objects that surround him. Bessiake’s palette seeks to capture the ways in which light transforms his subjects and surroundings.
Josue Bessiake is a senior at Montserrat College of Art in Beverly, MA. He recently completed an artist residency in the Bahamas where he studied painting with Michael P. Edwards. Bessiake also presented an artist talk at the National Gallery, Bahamas as part of his residency. Recent exhibitions include Fresh Faces at Abigail Ogilvy Gallery, Boston, Shallow Waters at Bare Gallery, Beverly, and the upcoming show, A Familiar Form, at Massachusetts College of Art.
May Sun | Embracing Transcendence
Life is full of unpredictable opportunities for change to overcome suffering, unfairness, and disappointment. Free will means choosing to embrace and transcend life challenges. This exhibition reflects choosing to rise up through personal responsibility and positively impact others.
Through years of self discovery, I transitioned my main focus to philosophical artistic pursuits. Embracing and overcoming doubts and discomfort freed my artistic spirit to grow. Inspiration and intuition guide my art making.
Seeking dialogue with my painting, I use faster drying material like acrylic paint for spontaneity and responsiveness. Waiting, boundaries and restrictions fade away. Style is a by-product of my creative process, not the cheese in the mousetrap. Collage offers symbolic and historical references. Tools from hardware stores, cooking gadgets and even toy cars create certain textures and images. The resulting art reflects life: imperfect, rustic, multi-layered, full of stories, philosophy and love.
This exhibition includes miniseries reflecting this process. Chinese classic and folk dance performances, ballroom dance competitions, and simple free dances inspire lines, shapes, and color. As a fan of Gongfu legends since childhood I sense its depiction of strength and skill. After visiting the Gene Culture exhibition at MIT Museum, I combined Science, GongFu and pandemic social events to reflect on human perseverance and hope for the future. Buddhist and calligraphy images transcend the ordinary and embrace the mystical. Finally, the. deep sky, air of spring, beautiful lakes, fragrance from trees and flowers reflect on our wonderful planet and universe.
I hope viewers feel inspired and embrace their own transcendence.
Joe Quinn | American Hypnagogia
American: of or relating to the United States of America or its inhabitants. A citizen of the United States of America. Common cultural artifacts include the flag of the United States, apple pie, baseball, rock and roll, blue jeans, Coca-Cola, assault weapons, and small towns. Americanism tends to support monoculturalism and cultural assimilation, believing them to be integral to a unified American cultural identity. This Includes, but is not limited to unquestioned patriotism as defined by whoever you happen to be speaking to at the time, the procurement and wide spread use of firearms, fear of the Other, Them, You, and Me, as well as an unquestioned adherence to the rules as laid down by an all seeing, all knowing, all powerful invisible man to the exclusion of all other invisible men.
Hypnagogia: the transitional state from wakefulness to sleep, also defined as the waning state of consciousness during the onset of sleep. Experiences can include hallucinatory sounds, visions, beliefs, and actions. Those suffering from these effects may uncontrollably wave flags and banners, consume unhealthy levels of propogandist media and feel compelled to threaten, atack, and even kill those who are defending freedom. The most common side effect observed is the repetitive voting against one’s own interest and wellbeing.
American Hypnagogia is an exhibition of works that confront the astounding absurdity that has taken hold of American political and social discourse. Abstracted figurative characters are immersed in abstracted worlds populated with symbolism, iconography, historical tropes, and hidden text. Executed in vibrant color, bold linework, and a unique visual language American Hypnagogia is part carnival sideshow and part twenty-four-hour news cycle. It is a treatise on social interaction and even the language we use, as influenced by a cacophony of corporate, social, and political voices.
This exhibition also introduces a collection of paintings from an ongoing body of work entitled Straphangers which explores the concepts of identity and anonymity, particularly within the confines of an urban metropolis.