JONATHAN SULLAM
Born in 1979 in Brussels (Belgium).
Lives and works in Brussels.
Jonathan Sullam uses industrial materials as a reference form upon which hand-crafted work is added or combined. They reference an industrial era, where the artist is allowed to intervene and modify the use, re-inventing purpose and spatial experience. His protean work is characterized by a poetic fusion of territory and the stories that have marked a given space. A coalescence into which he merges his own mythology and from which new fields of experimentation are born, these reflections explore the image, the material and the memory.
Image above: Jonathan Sullam, Board of bills, 2015. Mirror-polished aluminium structure, LED plus by Osram. 840 x 420 x 200 cm. Photo: Mikael Falke
LIGHT, SPACE AND SOUND
Jonathan Sullam’s work focuses on a triple axis of light, space and sound, which he employs as variables that offer the spectator multiple ways of approaching his work. An object is first and foremost whatever you make of it, so it can, potentially, be perceived differently by different people. This is equally so for works of art, the perception of which can vary in function of their state, the site where they are exhibited and the moment when they are viewed. Fluorescent tubes are thus not merely sources of light: they produce a sound when switched on, they modify the space in which they are located and reveal (or not) images associated with them. The use of reflective surfaces, or even mirrors, can be part of a similar approach.
However, the use of an object is also a function of our knowledge about it, so that when, for instance, we are confronted with artefacts from the past, it is sometimes difficult for us to understand what they were used for. Jonathan Sullam makes metaphoric use of such time lags in his work to evoke tensions at work in our society. A microphone can thus relay messages of hate or peace, shapes produced by the automobile industry can reflect a prevailing state of mind at a moment of history and, one day, instruments associated with the exploitation of fossil fuels will no longer make any sense to humans when asked to describe what they are.
Creating a dialogue between the work of art and the spectator is another element that is central to Jonathan Sullam’s approach. The relationships established between his various projects create a descriptive framework for a narrative that offers different points of entry and comprehension, enabling the spectator to approach his work with a very broad perspective. So, a story featuring a powerful soundtrack offers numerous references to rock culture in its broadest sense – whether these are visual references (to the stage or the show), or links to song titles or the names of groups. The electricity that lights the fluorescent tubes of a work is the same source of power that drives amplifiers, electric guitars and microphones. - Text by Pierre-Yves Desaive, curator Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, 2022
Image above: Jonathan Sullam, Eternally temporary, 2012. Framed print. 190 x 150 cm.
David De Beyter, Thomas Devaux, Bérangère Fromont & Jonathan Sullam
Paris, France
CV
Born in 1979 in Brussels (Belgium).
Lives and works in Brussels.
EXPOSITIONS / EXHIBITIONS
2025
Untitled at present time, La Friche la Belle de Mai, Marseille, France. Cur.: Adrien Grimmeau & Gregory Thirion
2024
Paris Photo, galerie Bacqueville, Grand Palais, Paris
Kaze to Arashi, Fondation Blan, Bruxelles, Belgium
Zonder Titel, Galerie El, VTI Aalst, Belgium
Atypical Approach, Galerie El, Denderlerleeuw, Belgium
Making visible, Harlan Levey Projects, Brussels, Belgium. Cur.: Lara Pan
2023
L’Art de rien, Centrale for Contemporary Art, Brussels, Belgium. Cur.: François de Coninck
2021
Les Orages, ISELP – Art Center, Brussels, Belgium. Cur.: Laurent Courtens
2019
Extended Spaces, Irène Laub Gallery, Brussels, Belgium. Cur.: Sergio Fazenda Rodrigues
Stretch, MAD Brussels, Belgium.
2018
Slice & Dice, Irène Laub Gallery, Brussels, Belgium. Cur.: Gregory Lang
Present, Musée Van Buuren, Brussels, Belgium. Cur.: Michel Van Dyck
Private Choices, Centrale for Contemporary Art, Brussels, Belgium
Politics of Discontent, Irène Laub Gallery, Brussels, Belgium. Cur.: Jonathan Sullam
Attitude Sculpture, Eduardo Secci Gallery, Florence, Italy. Cur.: Daniele Capra
2017
Art Brussels, Irène Laub Gallery Brussels, Belgium
Festival Musiq3, Flagey-Marni, Brussels, Belgium
2016
Relics Of contemplation (solo show), Irène Laub Gallery, Brussels, Belgium. Cur.: Yolande de Bontridder
Only Lovers, Le Coeur, Paris, France. Cur.: Timothée Chaillou
Semantic of Numbers, Societe-d-electricite, Brussels, Belgium. Cur.: LAb(au)
2015
I killed my Mom (solo show), Maison des Arts de Schaerbeek, Brussels, Belgium
Mons 2015, Site-specific artworks in city of Thuin, Belgium. Cur.: Dorothée Duvivier
186 Louise – Brussels Art Days, 186 av. Louise, Brussels, Belgium. Cur.: Amandine Wittouck
Collection Province de Liège / Focus 25 artistes, Maison de l’Ambassadeur belge, Den Haag, Netherlands. Cur.: Caroline Coste
Pierre Papier Lino, Galerie Quai 4, Liège, Belgium
2014
Steve Reich Project, Different trains & WTC 9/11, Theâtre Brigittines, Brussels, Belgium
2013
Big Bang, Boccanera Gallery, Trento, Italy
Popposition, le Brass, Brussels, Belgium. Cur.: Liv Vaisberg
Verona Art Fair, Boccanera Gallery, Verona, Italy
Big Bang, Boccanera Gallery, Trento, Italy
Not a gourp show, ArteContemporanea gallery, Brussels, Belgium
2012
Black Gold (solo show), ArteContemporanea gallery, Brussels, Belgium
We dot not remember the Berlin Wall, La Quincaillerie, Brussels, Belgium. Cur.: Emilie Pischedda & Barthelemy Scholler
Do it, Cultural house of Namur, Belgium. Cur.: Djos Janssens
2011
Capsule Project, by mobile institute, kibla platform, maribor, Slovenia
Ile flottante, ArteContemporanea gallery, Catania, Italy
Onze, Exit11 Gallery, Grand Leez, Belgium.Cur.: Benoît Felix
2010
Capsule Project, ARBA-esa with Mobile Institute, Int. Design Biennale of St-Etienne, le Musée d’Art Moderne & le 9-bis, Saint-Etienne, France
Borderline, MAAC, Brussels, Belgium
2009
2PASS I & II, V-TRO Gallery, Brussels, Belgium
2008
Nothing to say, White Hotel, Brussels, Belgium
Capsule Project, by Mobile Institute, Kunstvlaai, Amsterdam, Netherlands, and Second Room, Brussels, Belgium
2006
The Wonderful fund collection, Pallant House Gallery, Chichester, United Kingdom. Cur.: Vanessa Branson & Prue O’day
2005
The Wonderful fund collection, Biennale de Marrakech. Cur.: Vanessa Branson & Prue O’day
Les Soeurs Jacques, Danielle Arnaud Art Gallery, London, United Kingdom
2004
Unseen by the Gardener, Danielle Arnaud Art Gallery, London, United Kingdom
Rencontres internationales Paris/Berlin, Grand Halle de la Villette, Paris, France
The International exchange, Time Square gallery, New-York, USA
The Crossing, La Raffinerie (PlanK), Brussels, Belgium. Cur.: Michel Baudson
Digital Animation & Composite Works, 291 Gallery, London, United Kingdom
PRIX & BOURSES / AWARDS
2015
Marc Feuillien Award. Fondation Marie-Louise Jacques belgian sculpture competition, Belgium
2013
Blumm Prize. International Art Prize, Brussels, Belgium
2003
Julian Sullivan Prize, Slade School of Fine Arts end degree show prize, United Kingdom
RÉSIDENCES / RESIDENCIES
2011
Dam' gorgeous, Organhaus Art Platform, Chongqing, China. Cur.: Mobile Institute
2009
Mobile Insitu Mexico, by Mobile Institute, TEP, Conarte, Monterrey, Mexico. Cur.: Carlos Limas
Clermont-Ferrand, Vidéoformes