Antonio Jose Guzman is a Dutch Panamanian visual artist, communication designer and lecturer. He lives and works in Amsterdam, Panama City and Dakar.

Early life and career

Guzman was born in Panama City, Panama in 1971. Guzman began studying photography and video, and became interested in Polaroids at early age. In the early 1990s he worked in Panama for the advertising giant Foote, Cone & Belding (FCB)

Draftfcb FCB (previously Foote, Cone & Belding) is one of the largest global advertising agency networks. It is owned by Interpublic Group and was merged in 2006 with Draft Worldwide, adopting the name Draftfcb. In 2014 the company rebranded itself as F ...

as a staff photographer. In the same years he did a series of photo projects for

Greenpeace Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning network, founded in Canada in 1971 by a group of Environmental movement, environmental activists. Greenpeace states its goal is to "ensure the ability of the Earth to nurture life in all its biod ...

Latin America and was freelance photographer for France Press International. In 1994 he graduated from the Isthmus University. He wrote a thesis on the psychological effects of advertising photography. In 1997 he moved to Europe and started working as an editorial photographer and art director of different magazines in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, London and

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

. In 2003 he produced and directed his first documentary, "Representando". Inspired by various exhibitions of

Bill Viola William John Viola Jr. ( , ; January 25, 1951 – July 12, 2024) was an American video artist whose artistic expression depended upon electronic, sound, and image technology in new media. His works focus on the ideas behind fundamental human ...

in the

Stedelijk Museum The Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam (; Municipal Museum Amsterdam), colloquially known as the Stedelijk, is a museum for modern art, contemporary art, and design located in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Amsterdam and by the

Gasometer Oberhausen The Gasometer Oberhausen is a decommissioned gas holder in Oberhausen, Germany, repurposed into a prominent exhibition venue. As an industrial landmark, it serves as an anchor point for both the European Route of Industrial Heritage and the Ind ...

, Germany. Guzman started studies in 2004 on audiovisual arts at the

Gerrit Rietveld Academie The Gerrit Rietveld Academie, also known as Rietveld School of Art & Design and Rietveld Academy, is an art academy in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It was founded in 1924 and offers programs in fine arts and design. History The Instituut voor Kuns ...

of Amsterdam. At the Rietveld he began to work with

gravitational In physics, gravity (), also known as gravitation or a gravitational interaction, is a fundamental interaction, a mutual attraction between all massive particles. On Earth, gravity takes a slightly different meaning: the observed force be ...

issues,

migration Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

and the life of one of his heroes, the late Dutch California based artist

Bas Jan Ader Bastiaan Johan Christiaan "Bas Jan" Ader (19 April 1942 – disappeared 1975) was a Dutch conceptual and performance artist, and photographer. His work was in many instances presented as photographs and film of his performances. He made perf ...

. Guzman's examination project "Gravitational Experiences", was a series of multiple channel installations and the documentary "The Miracle". Besides his individual art practice, Guzman is a lecturer and the founder of The State of L3 Contemporary Arts and Film Collective, the

Communication Design Communication design is a mixed discipline between design and information-development concerned with how media communicate with people. A communication design approach is concerned with developing the message and aesthetics in media. It also crea ...

studio Noisy Networks, and the visual arts atelier GF Workstation Amsterdam.

Work

Guzman works on research projects inspired by

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

, scientific genetic research, migration,

gravity In physics, gravity (), also known as gravitation or a gravitational interaction, is a fundamental interaction, a mutual attraction between all massive particles. On Earth, gravity takes a slightly different meaning: the observed force b ...

and architectonic

utopias A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia'', which describes a fictional island soci ...

. Guzman's oeuvre features installations, photography, sculptures, interventions, documentaries, films, sounds, single- and multichannel videos and

publications To publish is to make Content (media), content available to the general public.Berne Conv ...

. His projects allow us to cross different

time zones Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to compa ...

, unexplored worlds and

realms A realm is a community or territory over which a sovereign rules. The term is commonly used to describe a monarchical or dynastic state. A realm may also be a subdivision within an empire, if it has its own monarch, e.g. the German Empire. Etymo ...

; bringing us into what Guzman calls

time travel Time travel is the hypothetical activity of traveling into the past or future. Time travel is a concept in philosophy and fiction, particularly science fiction. In fiction, time travel is typically achieved through the use of a device known a ...

perceptions Perception () is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the presented information or environment. All perception involves signals that go through the nervous syste ...

Chain Diary

Between 2007 and 2010 he took part in the nomadic exhibition ''Multiple M,'' in which he participated with his international interactive multimedia project ''Chain Diary.''

The State of L3

After the success of ''Chain Diary'' he developed the project State of L3 where he asks artists in Brazil, The Netherlands and Senegal to upload their work onto a

database In computing, a database is an organized collection of data or a type of data store based on the use of a database management system (DBMS), the software that interacts with end users, applications, and the database itself to capture and a ...

so that their partners and later on other visitors can access, watch and react with their own ideas to what they see. In this way the database will create an ever-growing and expanding online community based on either personal histories or just interest in Africa and all its cultural and social expansions over the entire globe. The project brings together their thoughts, ideas, experiences, dialogues and virtual exchange in the L3 virtual database. The State of L3 explores with multimedia installations as a medium for a documentary on transatlantic networks and the artists reflections on the Black Atlantic African world, the

symbiosis Symbiosis (Ancient Greek : living with, companionship < : together; and ''bíōsis'': living) is any type of a close and long-term biological interaction, between two organisms of different species. The two organisms, termed symbionts, can fo ...

that exist between people of

African descent Black is a racial classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid- to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin and often additional phenotypical ...

and their position in the contemporary society as well as the historic perspective and the colonial past of the countries of origin of the artists. The project was supported by the Mondriaan Foundation, the VSB Foundation, the Prince Claus Fund, the Netherlands Foundation for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture (Fonds BKVB) and Erfgoed Nederland.

The Day We Surrender to the Air

The State of L3 was developed at the same time that Guzman started the documentary trilogy ''The Day We Surrender to the Air,'' a documentary based on the results of Guzman's DNA test. This DNA test, executed by the National Geographic

Genographic Project The Genographic Project, launched on 13 April 2005 by the National Geographic Society and IBM, was a Molecular anthropology, genetic anthropological study (sales discontinued on 31 May 2019) that aimed to map historical human migrations patter ...

and African Ancestry, shows Guzman's mixed background. In the documentary, Guzman travels to the places of his

ancestry An ancestor, also known as a forefather, fore-elder, or a forebear, is a parent or ( recursively) the parent of an antecedent (i.e., a grandparent, great-grandparent, great-great-grandparent and so forth). ''Ancestor'' is "any person from ...

and brings to the front various questions considering

ethnic An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, re ...

identity, migration and

Diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of birth, place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently resi ...

. The trilogy was supported by The Netherlands Foundation for Visual Arts, Design and Architecture (Fonds BKVB). The documentary had its premiere at the International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), before going on international tour in 2010. ''The Day We Surrender to the Air, Episode Two'' was firstly shown at The Thessaloniki Documentary Festival 2010 in Greece and the Africa in the Picture film festival, Amsterdam.

''Piertopolis''

Guzman's research for multiple connections worldwide has defined and shaped his vision and artistic

iconography Iconography, as a branch of art history, studies the identification, description and interpretation of the content of images: the subjects depicted, the particular compositions and details used to do so, and other elements that are distinct fro ...

, after an extensive family ancestry and DNA research Guzman jump into a bigger boat, that will define sociologically the whole humanity in his following projects ''Piertopolis,'' ''D.A.T.E.D Paris'' and ''Psychogeographic Mapping Project.'' ''Piertopolis'' is inspired by New Babylon of

COBRA COBRA or Cobra, often stylized as CoBrA, was a European avant-garde art group active from 1948 to 1951. The name was coined in 1948 by Christian Dotremont from the initials of the members' home countries' capital cities: Copenhagen (Co), Brussels ...

artist Constant, ''Piertopolis'' features an architectural design for an installation of a life-size landscape made out of piers and walking bridges. The project is supported by the Amsterdam Foundation for the Arts. AFK and by the Mondriaan Fonds. The ''Piertopolis'' exhibition at Gemak in January 2012 converted the entire museum into a

Buckminster Fuller Richard Buckminster Fuller (; July 12, 1895 – July 1, 1983) was an American architect, systems theorist, writer, designer, inventor, philosopher, and futurist. He styled his name as R. Buckminster Fuller in his writings, publishing more t ...

New Babylon (Constant Nieuwenhuys) New Babylon is an anti-capitalist city perceived and designed in 1959-74 as a future potentiality by visual artist Constant Nieuwenhuys.Henri Lefebvre on the Situationist InternationalInterviewconducted and translated 1983 by Kristin Ross. Printe ...

idealistic

Utopian A utopia ( ) typically describes an imagined community or society that possesses highly desirable or near-perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia'', which describes a fictional island soci ...

architectonic landscape for a future society. His film the 'Legend of Billy Maclean' premièred in the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA),

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

, India's premier cultural institution and his project DATED performed at the Divan Du Monde and Petit Ban in Paris (invited by Dimanche Rouge). For DATED Guzman made live assemblages of his documentaries 'The Day We Surrender to The Air' and 'The Legend of Billy Maclean', to the singing and voice of American artist Aurora Adams. DATED is inspired by the novel Rayuela, from the Argentine writer

Julio Cortázar Julio Florencio Cortázar (26 August 1914 – 12 February 1984; ) was an Argentine and naturalised French novelist, short story writer, poet, essayist, and translator. Known as one of the founders of the Latin American Boom, Cortázar influenc ...

Los Angeles Mapping Project

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

Mapping Project is a Psychogeographic Research of the population

demographics Demography () is the statistical study of human populations: their size, composition (e.g., ethnic group, age), and how they change through the interplay of fertility (births), mortality (deaths), and migration. Demographic analysis examin ...

and transit of different district and neighborhoods of

. The Project explore the

Psychogeography Psychogeography is the exploration of urban environments that emphasizes interpersonal connections to places and arbitrary routes. It was developed by members of the Letterist International and Situationist International, which were revolutionar ...

idea of the city using new social networks. Inspired by

Guy Debord Guy-Ernest Debord (; ; 28 December 1931 – 30 November 1994) was a French Marxist theorist, philosopher, filmmaker, critic of work, member of the Letterist International, founder of a Letterist faction, and founding member of the Situat ...

"unitary

urbanism Urbanism is the study of how inhabitants of urban areas, such as towns and cities, interact with the built environment. It is a direct component of disciplines such as urban planning, a profession focusing on the design and management of urban ...

", the information from the research was transform into

data visualization Data and information visualization (data viz/vis or info viz/vis) is the practice of designing and creating Graphics, graphic or visual Representation (arts), representations of a large amount of complex quantitative and qualitative data and i ...

maps, that generate an idea on how the district and neighborhoods of Los Angeles are forming itself towards the future, the maps demonstrate areas of

Transculturalism Transculturalism is defined as "seeing oneself in the other".Cuccioletta, DonaldMulticulturalism or Transculturalism: Towards a Cosmopolitan Citizenship., LONDON JOURNAL OF CANADIAN STUDIES 2001/2002 VOLUME 17, Plattsburgh State University of New Y ...

homogeneous Homogeneity and heterogeneity are concepts relating to the uniformity of a substance, process or image. A homogeneous feature is uniform in composition or character (i.e., color, shape, size, weight, height, distribution, texture, language, i ...

cultures, incomes and preferences. Articles on Los Angeles Mapping Project (Psychogeographic Mapping) by Dutch Art Events, Void Gallery Amsterdam, The Windward School, Los Angeles and art critic Rob Perrée"Mapping Los Angeles at Windward School a project by Antonio Jose Guzman"
''Windward School'', February 2013.

Exhibitions

Guzman's work has been included in group exhibitions in the MHKA The Museum of Contemporary Art,

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

; Gemak de Vrije Academie,

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

; Smart Project Space, Amsterdam; Gallery Image, Arhus, Denmark; Knipsu Art Space,

Bergen, Norway Bergen (, ) is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 2025 the population is 294 029 according to Statistics Norway. The municipali ...

; Moretti and Moretti, Paris; and in the Corridor Gallery, New York City. He participated in the

Sharjah Biennial The Sharjah Biennial is a large-scale contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years in the city of Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. The first Sharjah Biennial took place in 1993, and was organized by the Sharjah Department of Cu ...

, United Arab Emirates 2011, Panama Biennial and in the

Dakar Biennale The Dakar Biennale, or Dak'Art - Biennale de l'Art Africain Contemporain, is a major contemporary art exhibition that takes place once every two years in Dakar, Senegal. Dak'Art's focus has been on Contemporary African Art since 1996. History ...

, Senegal, 2010. Guzman has been given lectures at

The New School The New School is a Private university, private research university in New York City. It was founded in 1919 as The New School for Social Research with an original mission dedicated to academic freedom and intellectual inquiry and a home for p ...

New York; the Museum voor Moderne Kunst Arnhem; the DAI

Artez ArtEZ University of Arts () is an art academy in Netherlands. ArtEZ combines several art institutes and art disciplines with branches in Arnhem, Enschede, and Zwolle. In its name the A stands for Arnhem, the E for Enschede, and Z for Zwolle. Aca ...

Master School program, Tent Rotterdam; IDFA The International Documentary Festival Amsterdam; Windward School Los Angeles and Det Jyske Kunstakademi,

Aarhus, Denmark Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and approximately northwest ...

Gallery

File:Antonio Jose Guzman The Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp (M HKA) Exhibition the State of L3.jpg, Guzman at The Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp (M HKA) File:Towersmallguzman.JPG, Projection of Guzman's short film The Miracle. Tower of hour, Echtenstein Ateliers File:Antonio Jose Guzman smart project space Amsterdam.jpg, Guzman at Smart Project Space File:Antonio Jose Guzman Piertopolis Museum Werf't Kromhout Amsterdam.jpg, Guzman Project Piertopolis Museum Kromhout Amsterdam File:Antonio Jose Guzman Dakar Biennial Senegal.jpg, Guzman Dakar Biennial Projections File:Antonio Jose Guzman MHKA Antwerp Boat Transatlantic.jpg, Guzman at MHKA Antwerp File:Surrender-antonio-jose-guzman-stateofl3-cinema-poster-tessa.jpg, "The Day We Surrender to the Air" Press Conference Thessaloniki Film Festival File:postermilagro.jpg, The Miracle Poster

References

External links

*
The State of L3

Piertopolis

"The day we surrender to the air"

Listening

Guzman On Gravity1 Radio Rietveld Stedelijk Museum AmsterdamGuzman On Gravity2 Radio Rietveld Stedelijk Museum AmsterdamGuzman On Gravity3 Radio Rietveld Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guzman, Antonio Jose 1971 births Panamanian artists Artists from Amsterdam Dutch video artists People from Panama City Living people Audiovisual artists