James Bantone b. 1992

Exhibitions
Works
  • James Bantone, Entrepreneur of the Self 01, 2023
    Entrepreneur of the Self 01, 2023
  • James Bantone, Entrepreneur of the Self 02, 2023
    Entrepreneur of the Self 02, 2023
  • James Bantone, Entrepreneur of the Self 03, 2023
    Entrepreneur of the Self 03, 2023
  • James Bantone, FRANKIE’S HAIRCUTS ON BROADWAY, 2023
    FRANKIE’S HAIRCUTS ON BROADWAY, 2023
  • James Bantone, If you see me and you tryna see what’s up, 2023
    If you see me and you tryna see what’s up, 2023
  • James Bantone, OPEN (mmhmm), 2023
    OPEN (mmhmm), 2023
  • James Bantone, OPEN (psss), 2023
    OPEN (psss), 2023
  • James Bantone, OPEN (slatt), 2023
    OPEN (slatt), 2023
  • James Bantone, OPEN (what? what? what?), 2023
    OPEN (what? what? what?), 2023
  • James Bantone, Child's Play 02, 2022
    Child's Play 02, 2022
  • James Bantone, Child's Play 01, 2022
    Child's Play 01, 2022
  • James Bantone, Child's Play 03, 2022
    Child's Play 03, 2022
  • James Bantone, Polite Lies 01, 2022
    Polite Lies 01, 2022
  • James Bantone, Polite Lies 02, 2022
    Polite Lies 02, 2022
  • James Bantone, Fool of the Month, 2022
    Fool of the Month, 2022
  • James Bantone, Fool of the Month, 2022
    Fool of the Month, 2022
  • James Bantone, Fool of the Month, 2022
    Fool of the Month, 2022
  • James Bantone, Fool of the Month, 2022
    Fool of the Month, 2022
  • James Bantone, Fool of the Month, 2022
    Fool of the Month, 2022
  • James Bantone, Fool of the Month, 2022
    Fool of the Month, 2022
  • James Bantone, Terminal Irony, 2021
    Terminal Irony, 2021
  • James Bantone, Profeta, 2021
    Profeta, 2021
  • James Bantone, The Fade, 2021
    The Fade, 2021
  • James Bantone, Cuts of Love, 2021
    Cuts of Love, 2021
  • James Bantone, Cuts of Love, 2021
    Cuts of Love, 2021
  • James Bantone, Cuts of Love, 2021
    Cuts of Love, 2021
  • James Bantone, Chronic Oversharer, 2021
    Chronic Oversharer, 2021
  • James Bantone, Blue Magic (Anti-Breakage Formula) 04, 2020
    Blue Magic (Anti-Breakage Formula) 04, 2020
  • James Bantone, A Demon Hairstyle Guide, 2020
    A Demon Hairstyle Guide, 2020
  • James Bantone, A Demon Hairstyle Guide 15, 2020
    A Demon Hairstyle Guide 15, 2020
  • James Bantone, A Demon Hairstyle Guide 10, 2020
    A Demon Hairstyle Guide 10, 2020
  • James Bantone, Demon Tingz: Reloaded 5, 2020
    Demon Tingz: Reloaded 5, 2020
Overview
James Bantone  (*1992, Geneva, lives and works in Paris)'s artistic practice is an ongoing exploration and unsettling look at identity obsession. Through installations that play with the poetics of anonymity, ulterior perspectives, and subjectivity, combining photography, sculpture, and video, Bantone questions not only contemporary markers of violence towards the racialized and queer body, but also the refusal of identification of his subjects and thus their exploitation. By appropriating the "tools of the fashion world" and, at times, perverting their application, Bantone approaches a new method of representation wrapped in layers of refusal - tightly sewn neoprene jumpsuits reveal neither skin nor face, oversized prosthetics impose the grotesque, and, at times, all anthropomorphic signifiers are abandoned. Accompanied by a strong interest in the horror genre, the artist is driven to reconfigure and design bodies, objects and clothing by staging them in an absurd manner, in order to question various tropes. 
Biography
James Bantone graduated with a Bachelor of Art & Media - Video at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) in 2019 and completed the Work. Master - Contemporary Artistic Practices at the Geneva University of Art and Design (HEAD) in 2021. He has had solo exhibitions at Karma International, Zurich (2021), Coalmine, Winterthur (2020), and participated in group exhibitions at Kunsthalle Zurich (2023), Simian, Copenhagen (2023), Klemm’s Gallery, Berlin (2023), Museum Morsbroich, Leverkusen (2023), Centre d'Art Contemporain de Genève (2022) Cordova, Barcelona (2021), Swiss Institute, New York (2020), Kunsthalle Fribourg (2020), and UV Estudios, Buenos Aires (2019).
Events