biography
Bourcart has lived in New York City since 2006, originally from France. She carries with her a blend of French and Vietnamese heritage.
Bourcart's artistic footprint extends across various galleries and art venues, both nationally and internationally. Her work is featured in solo and group exhibitions from California to Boston, New York to France, and Switzerland. Her photo-based creations are included in museum collections in both France and New York.
She has ventured into the public sphere with four large-scale art pieces printed on aluminum, engaging audiences in the artistic landscape of New York.
In the broader art community, Bourcart has participated in art fairs such as Art on Paper, Art Wynwood, and Flux Art Fair. Her accolades include the Paula Rhodes Memorial Award for exceptional achievement in Fine Arts, recognizing her thesis work at the School of Visual Arts in 2023. Additionally, she has received grants from the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Uniqlo Park Expressions, and The Puffin Foundation.
In 2020, Bourcart co-founded the collective Art Forms Us, a forum for open discussions on artistic processes and contemporary art topics and projects. Her commitment to artistic exploration led her to complete a residency at the Vermont Studio Center in 2023, following her MFA from the School of Visual Arts in 2023.
artist statement
I hail from Alsace, a region in France where my paternal ancestors thrived in the textile industry. On the other hand, my maternal grandparents come from modest backgrounds. My Vietnamese grandfather was a ‘Cong Binh’ (soldier-worker), forcibly recruited from Indochina by France during WW2 and employed in bomb factories. His story remained ‘invisible’ and ‘silent’ despite the historical victory. Until recently, his entrance into France, like that of many people in similar circumstances, left no historic traces.
My childhood was marked by the striking contrast in how my grandparents’ backgrounds were acknowledged. While my father's lineage was glorified, my maternal grandfather’s contributions remained silent, almost hidden. This enigmatic disparity inspired me to explore the interconnections between such dissemblance.
Drawing from my family’s history, my goal is to create interconnection through the unexpected union of materials and techniques. As a gleaner, I collect various textural materials that lack commonality. They could be ordinary, overlooked, discarded or even repulsive and attractive, desirable, valued, or rare. I assemble them together through a range of craft techniques such as felting, sewing, knitting, and embroidery. Through this process, I provide these elements with a voice, encouraging them to establish connections and dialogues among themselves.
My work often is filled with encoded abstract content, acting as a bridge between the acknowledged and the hidden, the loud and the mute. These works act as containers for memories or societal perspectives, providing a canvas for introspection and critique through a visual, physical, and tactile experience. Each piece reflects the transformation of silence into voice, offering a narrative that celebrates harmony by embracing diversity and nurturing dialogue. Ultimately, my art seeks to heal the dissonance between glorified and forgotten histories, creating a space for reflection and unity.