Draft:Debesh Goswami
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Debesh Goswami | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1965 Kolkata, India |
| Nationality | Indian, French |
| Education | Rabindra Bharati University; University of Rennes 2 |
| Known for | Performance art, sculpture, installation |
| Awards | French Government Scholarship, Art Omi Residency, DRAC-Brittany Grant |
| Website | debeshgoswami.com |
Debesh Goswami (born 1965) is a Franco-Indian contemporary artist whose multidisciplinary practice spans performance, sculpture, and installation. His work frequently incorporates ephemeral materials such as flour, clay, and flowers to explore ritual, transience, and embodied experience. Goswami has exhibited internationally, including at the Liverpool Biennial, Florence Biennale, and the Moscow Museum of Modern Art. His works are held in collections such as the Centre Pompidou’s Bibliothèque Kandinsky.[1][2]
Early life and education
[edit]Goswami was born in Kolkata in 1965. He studied sculpture at Rabindra Bharati University beginning in 1987. In 1995, he received a French Government Scholarship for Young Artists and relocated to France. The following year, he undertook a research fellowship at the National Academy of Fine Arts in Poznań, Poland. In 2001, he completed a doctoral thesis at the University of Rennes 2 titled The Moulding Process in Contemporary Sculpture: Technique and Time.[3]
Career
[edit]Between 1996 and 2004, Goswami held solo exhibitions at Galerie du Haut Pavé in Paris.[4] In 2007, his work was included in India: Art contemporain indien at Galerie Hélène Lamarque, alongside artists including Anish Kapoor.[5]
Significant international exhibitions include:
- Liverpool Biennial (2002)[6]
- Florence Biennale (2021)[7]
- Industrial Art Biennial, Croatia (2023)[8]
- Cloak and Dagger: India’s Fictional Times, Zuzeum Art Centre, Riga (2025)[9]
In 2020, his work was presented in the Moscow Museum of Modern Art’s international programme.[10] In 2021, he held a solo exhibition at Galerie Grand E'terna, Paris.[11]
Artistic practice
[edit]Goswami’s installations and performances often employ transient materials such as flour, cloth, and ash. His practice frequently involves the body in ritualised gestures including wrapping, washing, or stillness. Independent reviews have interpreted his use of fragile substances as reflecting cultural memory and transformation.[12]
One notable body of work, The Silence of Nature (1996–2001), combined soil, bronze, and plant matter to explore cycles of decay and regeneration. Curator Deborah Jenner described the series as “revealing the fleeting nature of existence... negotiating an existence between origin and exile.”[13]
Teaching and residencies
[edit]Goswami has taught at several art schools in France and is a professor at the École Européenne Supérieure d’Art de Bretagne (ÉESAB) in Rennes.[14]
He has participated in artist residencies including:
- Art Omi, New York[15]
- Cité Internationale des Arts, Paris (2002, 2008, 2009)
Critical reception
[edit]Goswami’s work has been discussed by critics and curators such as:
- Jean‑Marc Poinsot, who links his practice to postminimalist sculpture and themes of time and absence.[16]
- Nicolas Bourriaud, who wrote in an exhibition catalogue that Goswami’s body-based performances “reactivate ancient Indian techniques of bodily awareness” and frame the body as both “meditative and resistant.”[17]
- Abul Mansur, who described his installations as “suspended time... a bridge between visible matter and its possible metamorphoses.”[18]
- Shaheen Merali, curator of the Riga exhibition, who interpreted his work as mediating “between modernist space and colonial legacy through acts of concealment, touch, and gesture.”[19]
Legacy and collections
[edit]Goswami’s works are in private and public collections, notably the Bibliothèque Kandinsky at the Centre Pompidou.[20]
Auction results for his works have been recorded by houses such as Finarte Milano, with realised prices exceeding US$5,000.[21]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Debesh Goswami – Fonds documentaire". Centre Pompidou. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
- ^ Sen, Arundhati (28 September 2010). "Cross-cultural ties in art". The Telegraph. ABP Group. Retrieved 3 July 2025.
- ^ Debesh Goswami: The Moulding Process. Galerie du Haut Pavé. 2001.
- ^ "Debesh Goswami – Galerie du Haut Pavé". Galerie du Haut Pavé. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
- ^ "The French like it Indian". The Telegraph. 11 March 2007. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
- ^ "Liverpool Biennial 2002 Archive". Liverpool Biennial. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
- ^ XII Florence Biennale: Contemporary Artists Catalog. Florence Biennale Foundation. 2021.
- ^ "Life: a vital process (2003–2015)". Invaluable. 19 June 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
- ^ Shaheen Merali, ed. (2025). Cloak and Dagger: India’s Fictional Times. Zuzeum Art Centre.
- ^ International Programme 2020. Moscow Museum of Modern Art. 2020.
- ^ "Debesh Goswami – Artist CV". Artsy. Retrieved 3 July 2025.
- ^ "Debesh Goswami – Installation Artist". Art UPON. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
- ^ Jenner, Deborah (2008). Galerie Hélène Lamarque – Debesh Goswami. Galerie Hélène Lamarque.
- ^ "Faculty – ÉESAB Rennes". ÉESAB. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
- ^ "Art Omi Alumni – Debesh Goswami". Art Omi. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
- ^ Poinsot, Jean‑Marc (2001). Debesh Goswami: The Moulding Process. Galerie du Haut Pavé.
- ^ Bourriaud, Nicolas (2007). Debesh Goswami: Body and Ritual. Galerie Hélène Lamarque.
- ^ Mansur, Abul (2008). Debesh Goswami – Catalogue. Galerie Hélène Lamarque.
- ^ Shaheen Merali, ed. (2025). Cloak and Dagger: India’s Fictional Times. Zuzeum Art Centre.
- ^ "Debesh Goswami – Fonds documentaire". Centre Pompidou. Retrieved 6 June 2025.
- ^ "Life: a vital process (2003–2015)". Invaluable. 19 June 2024. Retrieved 28 July 2025.
Category:Indian contemporary artists Category:French contemporary artists Category:Performance artists Category:1965 births Category:Living people
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