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| Everyday Things (2021), 33" x 41", mixed media on canvas |
Internationally collected mixed media artist Vito Bonanno. He taps into the daily emotional and social challenges of living with autism, placing his innermost feelings onto canvas. Bonanno's art contains the essence of his life, feelings, thoughts and dreams, coupled around objects or topics that “get stuck in his head”, including traffic lights, grids, ceiling fans, graffiti and pop culture. Corporate clients include Google, Amazon, and The Hartford. This original art piece along with others of Bonanno's are available through ArtLifting, their mission is to empower individuals living with disabilities through the celebration and sale of their artwork. Prints are produced on demand on either mounted wrapped canvas or giclee fine art paper in a variety of sizes here in the United States.
"The artist was having trouble getting back into a creative mood after some difficult months, and this is one of 3 pieces he created while trying to work himself out of the slump. The packed imagery content shows the flood of emotions, worries and relief that was released onto the canvas, with bold dark colors doing battle with the bright pinks, green and yellow that dare challenge the grid work trying to hold them in the background, and burst onto the scene in a mesmerizing flurry of images, sketchy outlines, words and phrases. Vito's artistic process is to work on several paintings at one time, adding one layer at a time that showcases the current topics trolling around in his mind at the time. There is always the repetitive favorite images of traffic lights in most all of Vito's paintings. These traffic light images almost act like a talisman, keeping any worrisome topics in the art at bay, and acting as protection for Vito and everyone in his world. The artist has several images he uses in this manner, including bunnies, Luis the Rat, and more. Some he uses more often then others, like his classic traffic lights."
Bonanno was diagnosed with PDD/Autism just before his 4th birthday. Because he was language delayed, his parents and teachers developed strategies that tapped into his high visual acuity, utilizing storyboard styles to relay academic and social information. He was also encouraged to draw in storyboard format to express his feelings. The storyboard grid remains prominent in his work and studio preparation today and is a poignant reminder of a boy who was trapped in his own mind.
Bonanno taps into the daily emotional and social challenges of living with autism, placing his innermost feelings onto canvas. He is an award-winning, world-famous artist with a career spanning back to his childhood. The artist has participated in numerous art fairs, as well as national and international exhibitions, in addition to many art shows and high profile events during Art Basel Miami Beach - such as a past NIKE pop-up in Wynwood during Miami Art Week, as well as traveling in an art van Truck'N With Vito! at Umbrella Arts Gallery in NYC's lower east side, selling his art and spreading awareness about being an artist with autism.He unveiled his first Solo Exhibition, 'Unfiltered V: Vito Bonanno Riding with the Train Girls', in January 2012 at Akus Gallery at Eastern CT State University which included works on paper, canvas, video pieces, a student-artist interactive mural project, and installations. Akus Gallery Director, Elizabeth Peterson stated, "The characters, objects, and ideas that inhabit Vito Bonanno's work act and interact in striking ways. Caught within the grids and map-like structures he imagines, they are often in a struggle between multiple worlds. He has found a way to tap in the intensity of focus and insight afforded him through autism to unleash a formidable creative power and vision." His winning pieces, ‘Ghost Town on Davenport Avenue’ was exhibited at the S. Dillon Ripley Center of the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C. and then was part of a traveling exhibition that went on a two year nationwide tour of university and independent galleries. Additionally, a second winning piece titled ‘Southhaven People’, was on exhibit at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, D.C. before also partaking in the nationwide traveling exhibition that ran through September 2011.
He is one of only 16 artists in the United States selected for a prestigious exhibition of previous awardees from the VSA Emerging Artists Program in the Kennedy Center Hall of Nations with sponsorship from the Volkswagen Group of America. As part of the celebrations for the 25th Anniversary of the ADA and 40th Anniversary of VSA in 2015, the exhibition included the work of select artists who represented the past 13 years of the VSA Emerging Young Artist Program; Curated by Stephanie Moore, she chose Bonanno's 'Daffy Goes to Waterbury with a Ninja Turtle' and 'SECR Toilet' to be part of the exhibition.
Vito is aligned with ArtLifting, which is a non-for-profit art organization that empowers artists living with disabilities through the celebration and sale of their artwork. ArtLifting is about creating opportunity, empowerment, and validation. This collaboration opened many new and exciting opportunities for the artist, which includes his work in Google's corporate collection, with art hanging in their Leesburg, VA offices, as well as Amazon, for one of their corporate buildings in Seattle, Washington.
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