ART VIEW: JACCO BUNT
Art View is a project that aims to expand the conversation of contemporary art by offering a space for emerging artists to showcase their work; Sabukaru hopes to shine a new light on creatives from all over the world.
Hailing all the way from idyllic Alphen aan den Rijn in the Netherlands, Jacco Bunt’s illustrations are celebrated for their colorful and minimalist re-interpretations of everyday objects, such as lamps, flowers or food. Heavily influenced by skate culture and Hip-Hop, his first steps into the art realm were screen printed T-shirts at the age of 16. Shortly after, he applied for Art School, only to get turned down due to his lack of having a portfolio.
In the early days after getting accepted to a 4-year Illustration study, he felt as if his skills weren’t up to par compared to the rest of the class, leading him to find his own style and niche: “During art school and right after I focussed on abstract work because that was what felt most comfortable, just playing with compositions, colour and not focusing on narratives or thematical solutions.” Together with the Netflix show Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories, he also cites the importance of the ability to recognize your immediate surroundings as a key source of inspiration.
Today, Jacco’s style can be described as a remix of De Stijl, Cubism, Bauhaus, while one major difference lies in his more playful approach that adds a cheerful and colorful character to the older movements that were oftentimes ruled by strict principles and laws: “Old art movements had all these rules on how to work and what to do to be part of the movement. I think my incompetence gave me a weird way of drawing so I always had to think of different ways to visualise certain subjects.”
The future for the Dutch artist, currently residing in Berlin, is looking bright. With big and small collaborations on the horizon, Jacco is aiming for a residency in Tokyo to further hone his craft, explore traditional craftsmanship and most importantly eat copious amounts of good food that might just be the impetus for his next works.
We sat down with the Dutch artist to get a deeper look behind his inspiration and the importance of color in this work.
Hey Jacco, could you please introduce yourself to the sabukaru Network?
My name is Jacco Bunt I’m an illustrator/artist and I was born and raised in Alphen aan den Rijn, The Netherlands.
How did your creative journey begin?
When I was younger, I was not interested in drawing or any other creative outlet. But when I was around 16/17, heavily influenced by skate culture and hip hop I tried to create my own T-shirts. This was the first time I started experimenting with creating anything visually. It was shortly after this that I applied for Art School for the first time. Of course they didn’t take me the first time because I was still not really into drawing and had no such thing as a portfolio to show. It took me several different studies and multiple years to learn what I wanted and how to reach this.
How has your practice changed over time?
I studied illustration for 4 years and during these years I've tried to focus on getting better at the basic skills of an artist. When I started I felt that my drawing skills were far inferior to the rest of my class. I think everything changes overtime because you will gradually become better at what you're doing and this will give opportunities into discovering new themes, outlets and collaborations.
Your work has undergone multiple transformations while retaining a clear style and sense of identity, how did the transition from abstract work turn into a materialistic series with objects and animals?
During art school and right after I focussed on abstract work because that was what felt most comfortable, just playing with compositions, colour and not focusing on narratives or themetical solutions. At a certain point I felt that what I was making was not inline with who I was as a person and what my true passion points were. This, in combination with being ‘stuck’ and a feeling of not knowing what to do next. I came up with new ‘exercises’ for myself to become better at drawing. I wanted to make a drawing a day and this started 3 years of drawing everything I encountered and was obsessed by.
An example of this is the series of posters I created around the Netflix show “Midnight Diner: Tokyo Stories”. The show is the perfect foundation for an obsessive series of drawings. The music is mesmerizing. The stories are weird and the food is great. It became a way to learn more about Japanese culture, history, music, food, old advertisements and translating them into a series of drawings. My process and where I found my inspiration changed over time. So that abstract compositions became filled with illustrative elements and create a slideshow of my learnings.
Your work has been inspired by de Stijl, Bauhaus, and Cubism. How would you describe the way you have added, changed or remixed those influences?
Added and changed hell no, remixed yes. I think my work is a combination of De Stijl, Cubism, Bauhaus, Dutch Design, 80/90’s advertising and Klare Lijn (a way to name the drawing style of TinTin). I think my incompetence gave me a weird way of drawing so I always had to think of different ways to visualise certain subjects. Old art movements had all these rules on how to work and what to do to be part of the movement. For me this was interesting to read, see and play with. It’s just playing around and coming up with new things to make old things interesting for yourself.
Color is a tool you use at your advantage, how do you pick the color palettes for each piece? Have you developed a system for each piece?
For me colour is the most important part of the work. Probably this is what I've learned from the old masters (Jozef Aalbers, Theo van Doesburgh, Piet Mondriaan, Juan Gris etc etc). If the colour is off your whole visual is worth nothing, at least from my perspective. So sometimes you choose certain colours because you think that these colours will represent what’s depicted the best, but mostly I want to create something that will be surreal or far from expected. Usually I start with one or two colours and based on these I will create a palette that will enhance each other. So I create a lot of different palettes and each work has at least 3 different palettes to see what will work best. You never know unless you try.
Your work has appeared on a wide range of creative mediums, does your process change when doing work for different mediums?
I think the last 4 years every process starts with sketching a lot of ‘mini’ compositions and choosing 1/2/3 to finalise on A4 or A3 so that's probably the only boundary but other than that it’s just what’s been asked or what needs to be done. A lot of my projects are things I'm really into or where I get lots of freedom to bend the outcome to my liking. For example: Currently there is a new collaborative wool blanket in the making, for this medium the boundaries are set by the technique, so max 3 colors inline from left to right, the rest i can decide myself (concept, theme, color palette).
What advice would you give to someone interested in working in a similar medium as you?
You don’t have to come up with a new recipe.
Take a good Soup for example, it is the result of tradition refined over time. Only through repetition and practice will you achieve simplicity and richness in your creation. Hopefully this sounds not too pretentious haha.
Work harder than anybody else and keep on learning and challenging yourself. All things will become better with repetition and dedication.
Is there anything else you wish to say, any up and coming projects to look out for, relevant information about you etc?
I have some great collaborations coming up in 2021, big and small. A dream of mine would be to do a residency in Tokyo 2021/2022, do some workshops in traditional craftsmanship, learn about the culture, and get better at what i do. So if anyone knows about some cool residency spots let me know! :)
Thank you very much for your time and all the best for the future!
Please enjoy Jacco’s ART VIEW below:
About the Author:
Thomas is a designer from Italy’s Turin metropolitan area and currently residing in London, he specialises in visualising abstract concepts that bridge the world of theoretical science and design. Running, science, and sounds drive his love for life, surrounded by plants and positive people.
