Hans Bouman

Hans Bouman , born July 21, 1951 in Haarlem in the Netherlands , is a Dutch artist who has lived in Paris since 1981 .

Hans Bouman is a graduate of the Amsterdam Graphic School 1 and of the Gerrit Rietveld 2 Academy of Fine Arts in Amsterdam ( 1978 ).

Settled in Paris in the early 1980s , he received the Painting Prize at the 31st Salon de Montrouge 3 in 1986 , which opened the doors of galleries to him in Paris and abroad.

His personal exhibitions have been prefaced by Alin Avila , Gérard Barrière 4, Henri-François Debailleux, Gérard-Georges Lemaire , Daniel Picouly…

Throughout his career, Hans Bouman's works developed in cycles. He is known for his large hieratic heads painted in the thickness and density of the material which evoke the Moai of Easter Island , the masks of Africa , or the dramatic elongations of Expressionism . "All of Bouman's magic is there, in this play on pictorial matter and in this ability to bring out, literally and figuratively, an immediate figure" , wrote Henri-François Debailleux 5.

In a new series, he creates a pantheon of gods and goddesses out of his imagination: Årantaleph, Olafdir, Kratikoff, Mandi Tan ...

The development of new technologies leads him to combine the traditional practices of painting , drawing and engraving with the possibilities offered by digital technology .

Travel is an integral part of his artistic approach During stays in Bobo-Dioulasso in Burkina Faso and Foumban in Cameroon , he made lost wax bronzes with local foundries.

In 2014, he installed a monumental sculpture in the park in Shunde near Canton for the Sino-French P'art project which commemorates 50 years of diplomatic relations between France and China 6, 7.

Invited to two artist residencies by the Association for the Development of France-China Exchanges (ADEFC) directed by the writer Ya Ding 8 in 2017 and 2018, he was inspired by the landscapes of Guangxi and Hubei .

Hans Bouman made experimental films ( Les Méandres du Noir , Un Rêve based on the short story by Franz Kafka ) and video portraits of his painter friends: Christine Jean 9, Serge Plagnol, Fred Kleinberg 10, Zwy Milshtein , Bernard Ollier 11 , Sophie Sainrapt, Albert Hirsch …

About ten years ago, he set up a second studio in a barn in the Loiret countryside where his work is irrigated by the elements that surround him.

Personal exhibitions

• 2020: Nature of the gaze , Isabelle Frank workshop-gallery, Grenier à sel, Châtillon-Coligny [1] [ archive ]
• 2018: I paint, therefore you are , Area gallery, Orangery of the Senate, Luxembourg gardens, Paris
• 2015: Far from images and noise , Univer / Colette Colla gallery, Paris [2] [ archive ]
• 2012: Body and Soul II , Pink Gallery 12, Seoul
• 2012: Body and Soul I , Kunstdoc, Seoul
• 2012: Body and Spirit II , Espace Saint-Louis, Bar-le-Duc
• 2010: En corps , La Réserve d' area , Paris
• 2011: Head to head , La Serre, Saint-Étienne
• 2008: Burning heads, La Réserve d'area, Paris, catalog 13
• 2008: Body and Spirit , Raymond Farbos Contemporary Art Center, Mont-de-Marsan
• 2007: Shroud of oneself , La Réserve d' area , Paris
• 2005: Labyrinth , with S Galazzo, F. Haddad and S. Sainrapt, L'Entrepôt, Paris [3] [ archive ]
• 2004: 10 years of painting , Le Confort des Étranges gallery, Toulouse
• 2001: Art Deco Gallery, Antananarivo
• 2000: Koralewski Gallery, Paris
• 1999: Simoncini Gallery, Luxembourg
• 1997: In Lobi country with Bertrand Rieger, Espace Paul Ricard, Paris
• 1997: Albert Camus Cultural Center, Antananarivo , Madagascar
• 1996: Recent works , Studio Kostel, Paris
• 1996: Works on paper , Vanuxem gallery, Paris
• 1996: Journey 1985/1996 , Kiron Gallery, Paris
• 1995: Westlund Gallery, Stockholm
• 1995: Vanuxem Gallery, Paris
• 1993: Character traits , chapel of the town hall, Vesoul
• 1993: Nicole Buck Gallery, Strasbourg
• 1993: Vanuxem Gallery, Paris
• 1992: Simoncini Gallery, Luxembourg
• 1992: Sculptures , Koralewski Gallery, Paris
• 1990: Studio Kostel, Paris
• 1990: Vanuxem Gallery, Paris
• 1990: La Cour 21 Gallery, Nantes
• 1987: Galleria MR, Rome
• 1987: Nicole Ferry Gallery, Paris
• 1986: Flora Gallery, Kiron space, Paris
• 1985: Jean-Claude David Gallery, Grenoble