ARTFORMS
Videos, installation
MATERIALS / MEDIA
photography, mixed media
GUIDING INTERESTS
“Impermanence lies at the heart of the work of the Franco-Tunisian artist Ismaïl Bahri. Placing a sheet of wind-tossed paper in front of his camera lens, slowing down falling water drops by making them slide along a thread, observing the reflection of the city in a glass filled with ink held in his hand as he walks along: Ismaïl Bahri makes elementary and empirical gestures, and pays attention to “what is happening”, and what effect these operations will have on him. The artist positions himself as an observer; he gropes around, and talks of “shortsightedness” in relation to his work. He then sets up what he calls a “capture device” for these gestures, usually using video, but also photography and sound, without any specialization. It is quite often outside of the frame of the image that meaning emerges, in the perceptible presence of the surrounding world, which is suddenly revealed.” (François Piron)
Ismaïl Bahri’s work has been presented at La Criée (Rennes), Jeu de Paume (Paris), Les églises (Chelles), L’Espace Khiasma (Lilas), Staatliche Kunsthalle (Karlsruhe), Kunst Im Tunnel (Düsseldorf), the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (Lisbon), among others. His films have been selected at international film festivals such as TIFF (Toronto), NYFF (New york), IFFR (Rotterdam), FID (Marseille).
QUOTES
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2019 | Titre à venir. Curated by Guillaume Désanges. Le Forum. Fondation Hermès. Tokyo, Japan
2019 | Kyotographies. Curated by Mouna Mekouar. Nijo-Jô. Kyoto, Japan
2018 | Des gestes à peine déposés dans un paysage agité. Curated by Guillaume Desanges. La verrière. Brussels, Belgium
Instruments. Centro Cultural Porto Seguro. São Paulo, Brazil
2017 | Ce qui demeure. Selma Feriani Gallery. Tunis, Tunisia
Instruments. Curated by Marta Gili & Marie Bertran. Jeu de Paume. Paris, France
2015 | Film à blanc. Galerie Les Filles du Calvaire. Paris, France
Repos. Chapelle de La Trinité, Cléguérec, France
2014 | Sondes. Les Églises. Contemporary Art Centre, Chelles, France
Sommeils. Espace Khiasma. Les Lilas, France
Aflora. Alliance Française. Bogota, Colombia
Detail Se Dilate. Selma Feriani Gallery, Tunis, Tunisia
Blank Films. Espace Khiasma, Les Lilas, France
2012 | Précipités. Galerie Les Filles du Calvaire. Paris, France
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2019 | Artefact 2019. STUK. Louvain, Belgium
2018 | Collection Permanente, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, France
Habiter La Mediterranée, IVAM, Valence, Espagne
L’invitation aux Musées Weekend, CND Pantin, France
Je Me Souviens. Images – Oiseaux. oeuvres vidéos de la collection du CNAP, La Terrasse Espace d’Art de Nanterre, France
Dénouement. Dazibao, Montréal, Canada
Soulèvements. Galerie de L’UQUAM, Montréal, Canada
A la Lumière. Frac Occitanie Montpellier. Montpellier, France
La Ginestra. Alberta Pane Gallery. Venice, Italy
2017 | Dream City. A Public Space Art Festival. Tunis, Tunisia
Sans Réserve. Mac Val Musée d’art contemporain du Val-de-Marne. Vitry-sur-Seine, France
Ghosting of Beings and Worlds. Grey noise. Dubai, UAE
JeonJu International Film Festival. JeonJu, South Korea
EMAF European Media Art Film Festival. Osnabrück, Germany
Dance with me video. Maison Européenne de la Photographie. Paris, France
Be aware, record. FMAC. Geneva, Switzerland
Courtisane festival. Notes on cinema. Ghent, Belgium
Sharjah Biennial 13 | Tamawuj. Curated by Christine Tohme. Sharjah, UAE
IFFR International Film Festival Rotterdam. Rotterdam, The Netherlands
2016 | Soulèvements. Curated by Georges Didi-Huberman. Jeu de Paume. Paris, France
PLATFORM. Palais de la Découverte. Paris, France
Incorporated!. Les Ateliers de Rennes. Contemporary Art Biennial. Rennes, France
New York Film Festival I Projections. New York, U.S.A.
Toronto International Film Festival I Wavelengths. Toronto, Canada
FID 27th International Film Festival. Foyer. Mucem. Vidéodrome. Marseille, France
Do It. Co-curated by Hoor Al Qasimi & Hans Ulrich Obrist. Sharjah Art Foundation. Sharjah, U.A.E.
2015 | Telling Time. Rencontres de Bamako. African Biennale of Photography. Bamako, Mali
Là Où Commence Le Jour (in the framework of Lille3000 – Renaissance) LAM. Villeneuve d’Asq, France
The pen Moves Across The Earth. University of Toronto. Canada
Trace(s). MuCEM. Marseille, France
Vernacularity. WYSPA Institut of Art / FRAC Lorraine
Art in the Chapels. Chapelle de la Trinité. Cléguérec, France
2014 | Collective Collection. BBB Art Centre. Toulouse, France
2013 | Le Geste Premier. BBB Art Centre. Toulouse, France
La Fuerza de Coriolis (Artwork from the FRAC Lorraine collection) Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes. Santiago, Chile
Sans Matieres Ajoutees. CNEA. Chatou, France
Sharjah Biennial XI. Sharjah, UAE
L’arbre de Vie. Le Collège des Bernardins. Paris, France
Mandrake a Disparu. Espace Khaisma. Les Lilas, France
Intimacies. Savvy Contemporary. Berlin, Germany
Les Acquisitions 2012. Artothèque d’Angers. Angers, France
2012 | Chkoun Ahna. Carthage Museum. Tunis, Tunisia
Rising Images. Centre Georges Pompidou. Paris, France
Le Corps Découvert. Institut du Monde Arabe. Paris, France
Art Paris. Galerie Les Filles du Calvaire. Paris, France
Inside Studio E1. Cité Internationale des arts. Paris, France
Video Transitio. Museo Nacional de Arte. Mexico City, Mexico
Video.it. Fondation Mertz. Turin, Italy
8th Busan International Video Art. Busan, South Korea
Resistance[s] III. Cinémathèque de Tanger. Morocco
Benin Biennial. Centre Kore. Cotonou, Benin
JF_FH (Liberty). Appartement 22. Rabat, Morocco
Quand L’Art Deborde. Lab’Bel Group. Lons-Le-Saunier, France
Point Fragile. Selma Feriani Gallery. London, UK
Art Paris. Galeries Les Filles du Calvarie. Paris, France
2011 | Working For Change. Appartement 22. Rabat, Morocco
After The Rage. Lo and Behold. Athens, Greece
Contours. Violon Bleu Project. Tunis, Tunisia
Fragile Intentions. Galeries Les Filles du Calvaire. Paris, France
Lumière Noire – Neue Kunst aus Frankreich. Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, Germany
Human Frames. Kunst im Tunnel. Düsseldorf, Germany
Working For Change. Venice Biennale, Spazio Punch. Venice, Italy
Art proxime. La Fabrique. Toulouse, France
Frontières. Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. Lisboa, Portugal.
La Vidéothèque. Ecole des Beaux-Arts de Paris (ENSBA) Paris, Fance
2010 | Arab Shorts. Goethe-Institut Cairo. Cairo, Egypt
Resistances(s) III. Casa Àrabe, in cooperation with Lowave and Madatac. Madrid, Spain
Resistances(s) III. Fondazione Merz. Torino, Italy
Jeune Création 2010. Le Centquatre. Paris, France
Istanbul Art Fair. Istanbul, Turquie
Borders. Cape Town National Gallery. Cape Town, South Africa
Artcity Festival 2010. Calgary, Canada
Borders. Johannesburg Art Gallery. Johannesburg, South Africa
Sunday’s Screening 3. Filles du Calvaire Gallery. Paris, France
Resistances(s) III. British Film Institute, London, Great Britain
Fotographia Europea. Theatro Valli. Reggio Emilia, Italy
FIAV Vidéo Festival. Casablanca, Marocco
Borders. La Centrale Electrique. Brussels, Belgium
Videoformes Festival. Clermont-Ferrand. France
Resistance(s) III. Centre Georges Pompidou. Paris, France
Reframing Reality. Museet for Samtidskunst. Roskilde, Danemark
Bamako Encounters. Cape Town National Gallery. South Africa
Bamako Encounters. Johannesburg Art Gallery, South Africa
2009 | Bamako Encounters. Mali National Museum. Bamako, Mali
Cinemed. Fabre Museum. Montpellier, France
Les Instants Vidéo. Marseille, France
Experimental 3. Osaka City Historical Museum. Osaka, Japan
Video.it. Fondation Mario Merz. Torino, Italy
Experiments in Cinema. Albuquerque. New Mexico, USA
Ankara Film Festival. Ankara, Turkey
IGVfestival. Dublin, Ireland
Berlin Director Lounge. Berlin, Germany
Lateral Mouvement (Adelaïde Film Festival) Adelaïde, Australia
2008 | Optica International Festival of Art. Gijon, Spain
Les Instants Vidéo. Marseille, France
Cinemed. Montpellier, France
Videoformes 2008. Clermont-Ferrand, France
Video Salon. 10m2 Gallery. Sarajevo, Bosnia Herzegovina
COLLECTIONS
Centre Georges Pompidou. Paris, France
MAC VAL. Vitry-sur-Seine, France
FRAC. Lorraine, France
CNAP (Centre National d’Arts Plastiques). Paris, France
Lazaar Foundation. London, U.K.
Arthotèque d’Angers. Angers, France
Département Saine Saint Denis, France
Lyon City Art Collection. Lyon, France
Caldic Collectie, Pays-Bas
Artothèque du Limousin, France
Centre Pompidou. Paris, France
RESIDENCIES
May 2015 | Sémaphore du Créac’h, Ouessant island, France
January – march 2015 | Artistes en résidence, Clermont Ferrand, France
March 2014 | Alliance française, Bogota, Colombia
January 2013 to january 2014 | Fabrique Phantom, Paris, France
June 2012 | Appartement 22, Rabat, Morocco
August 2010 to december 2011 | Cité internationale des arts, Paris, France
CV
FORMATION
Paris.fr | Panthéon La Sorbonne | PhD Paris
Paris.fr | Panthéon La Sorbonne | Master Degree
Tunis.tn | School of Fine Arts (ISBAT). Graduated in Fine Arts
BIO
1978 Born In Tunis.tn
Lives and works between Paris.fr and Tunis.tn
LINKS
ismail-bahri.com
Selma Feriani Gallery: Ismail Bahri
TEXTS
Ismail Bahri | Kyotographie | Kyoto International Photography Fevtival. 23 July 2019
Video