JOSUE BESSIAKE

The Lights are on, but no one’s Home

Artist Talk:
Saturday, October 3rd | 4 - 6 PM

Exhibition on view through October 10, 2026

The Lights are on, but no one’s Home works within the tension of stability and transition. Using the formal concerns of painting to note encounters with the window, from a deep gaze to a fleeting glimpse, it is an examination of residual presence using the material ingredients of the home. This body of work is a record-keeping of noticing, remarking, and observing the consistent presence of the window, asking one to experience it for the first time. 

Photos by CJ Benninger

Josue Bessiake is a first-generation Ivorian-American painter working across media. His work speaks directly to the physical conditions of his environment, working between a passing glance and a thorough investigation. Bessiake interweaves image and materials to dissect memory, history, and place.   

Bessiake is an alumnus of the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture whose work has been supported by residencies at the Ballinglen Museum of Art, the Edward F. Albee Foundation, and the Elizabeth Murray Artist Residency. 

Bessiake has presented work at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, the New York Academy of Art, and the National Gallery of The Bahamas, and is a two-time recipient of a grant from the Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation. Recent exhibitions include Walpole Ontological Lab and Farm (Walpole, ME), the Institute for Public Architecture (New York, NY), and Presa House Gallery (San Antonio, TX).