Antonio Jose Guzman

Artistic Practice 

Antonio Jose Guzman (Panama City, 1971) is a Dutch-Panamanian artist. He lives and works in Amsterdam, Gujarat, Panama City and Dakar. His projects allow us to cross different time zones, unexplored worlds and realms; bringing us into what Guzman calls time travel perceptions. Most of his research oriented works and postcolonial projects are based in a ceremonial experience he had twenty-five years ago, when he was living with the indigenous people from the Guna Yala Islands in Panama.

On Constant

Almost two decades ago, Antonio Jose Guzman visited the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague (now Kunstmuseum) that changed the way he viewed his own artistic practice. Antonio was raised in the 70’s, believing that one day a better society will overcome the hyper-capitalist society in which we live in. The sculpture at the Gemeentemuseum that made such an impact, was Space Circus from Constant, made in 1956 as a public art project for the Museumplein in Amsterdam. The sculpture is part of New Babylon, the new city of the future, the habitat of the Homo Ludens, the playful people. For Antonio, this idea of playing and creativity connected to the 90’s rave period in Amsterdam and to the 70’s social activism in Panama.

It was a day in the winter of 2005, that Antonio decided to concentrate his work on Decolonial Research and Migratory Aesthetics. This set of theories brought him to work on DNA studies, using his DNA to make Utopian constructions and Indigo textiles that bring us to Afrofuturistic civilizations. Therefore, Constant’s oeuvre is part of Antonio’s artistic practice and defined the way he structures his work. Constant’s future visions are closely linked to the changing society of the 1950s and 60s in which they originate, but they are intricately connected to our contemporary society. Especially in times when our freedom is under threat because of polarization and the Covid19 pandemic. 

Previously 

His work has been exhibited worldwide, to name a few, at; The Museum of Contemporary Art, MHKA, Antwerp; Nieuw Dakota, Amsterdam; Gallery Image, Arhus, Denmark; Knipsu Art Space, Bergen, Norway, Groninger Museum and in Rush Art Galleries, New York City. Guzman has been giving lectures the last years in renowned institutions such as the New School, New York; the Museum voor Moderne Kunst Arnhem and in the Stedelijk Museum.