Visiting Practitioner – Adam Basanta
Born in Tel-Aviv (ISR) and raised in Vancouver (BC), Basanta lives and works in Montreal since 2010. Originally studying contemporary music composition, he has developed a broad, autodidactic artistic practice in mixed-media installations, sculpture, and print media. Across various media and techniques, he investigates technology as a meeting point of concurrent, overlapping systems; a nexus of cultural, computational, biological, and economic forces. He is particularly interested in the troubled intersections of quantitative and qualitative methodologies, and often seeks to confuse, balance, and synthesize these seemingly oppositional approaches.
Since 2015, his works have been exhibited in galleries and institutions including the Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal (CAN), WRO Biennale (POL), Fotomuseum Winterthur (CH), Cite International des Arts – Paris (FRA), Arsenal Art Contemporain (CAN), Galerie Charlot (FRA), iMAL (BEL), National Art Centre Tokyo (JPN), V Moscow Biennale for Young Art (RUS), Carroll/Fletcher Gallery (UK), American Medium Gallery (NYC), Serralves Museum (POR), Edith-Russ-Haus fur Mediakunst (GER), York Art Gallery (UK), and The Center for Contemporary Arts Santa Fe (USA).
His work have been awarded in Canada (Prix Pierre Ayot 2019, Sobey Art Award Longlist 2018 and 2020) and internationally (Japan Media Arts Prize 2016, Aesthetica Art Prize 2017). He is represented by Ellephant Gallery (Montreal), and his work can be found in institutional and private collections.
Adam mentioned early on that its important what you don’t like to think about why you don’t like it.
As someone who is very interested in feedback, most likely from by first introduction from my dad playing guitar, I found Adams work very interesting
Walking through the room and interrupting the feedback
His use of sound sculptures without sound. Not competing in the space.
The generative factory thing was very interesting as someone interested in generative work
His visual work (granular images) were very nice
“As technology changes the meaning of your piece will change” AB