MOCA North Miami Announces Open Call for Art on the Plaza 2024

Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami (MOCA) Announces Open Call for Art on the Plaza 2024 Artist Submissions — Applications open through December 29, 2023 — North Miami, FL – November 14, 2023 – The Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami (MOCA) is pleased to announce an open call for South Florida-based artists to submit their work for the 2024 Art on the Plaza series. The program invites artists to activate MOCA's Plaza with temporary public installations of site-specific art works, introducing and connecting the community with the breadth of the city's unique and inspiring artistic hub. Inaugurated in 2021 with a series of temporary public art installations on MOCA North Miami's front plaza, the series provides an opportunity for local artists to engage with the Museum and its community, employing the physical outdoor space as a platform to elevate their works. The 2023 series featured South Florida artists including Edison Peñafiel, LIZN'BOW (Liz Ferrer and Bow Ty), Sterling Rook, and will close with Chris Friday, whose work, Narcissist, goes on view November 29.  Throughout the years, MOCA has been championing the work of local artists while providing accessible opportunities for the community to participate and engage with the arts via free and public programming. This series is a continuation of that mission, offering an up-close, hands-on experience for local community members of all ages and backgrounds to witness the city's evolving arts ecosystem.  Artists will submit a proposal for temporary public art installations spanning three to four months in duration. These submissions will be reviewed by a MOCA-appointed selection committee and selections will be announced on January 27, 2024.  This year, three artists will be selected for installations to remain on view for four months. Each selected artist will be supported by MOCA through the fabrication, installation, and programming for  their project.  Across the plaza, artworks could incorporate the building's façade, architecture, the central fountain and include free-standing elements or light-based projections. Alongside the installations, the museum will host relevant programming to coincide with each artists' occupation of the space throughout the year. Interested artists can submit their qualifying materials electronically through the application portal. The deadline for submission of art projects is Dec. 29, 2023 by 11:59 p.m.  For more details on the application, key dates, and past Art on the Plaza commissions, please visit the museum's website. Support Art on the Plaza is presented by MOCA, with major support from the North Miami Community Redevelopment Agency (NMCRA). Additional support was provided by The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts. MOCA North Miami is generously funded by​ the North Miami Mayor and Council and the City of North Miami; the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation; and the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners. MOCA is sponsored in part by the State of Florida through the Division of Arts and Culture and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional support is provided by the Fine & Greenwald Foundation and the Sol Taplin Charitable Foundation. Founding support for the MOCA Sustainability Fund provided by the Green Family Foundation Trust. We also thank our Board of Trustees, Curator's Circle, and MOCA Members for their meaningful support.​ About the Museum of Contemporary Art North Miami MOCA North Miami presents contemporary art and its historical influences through exhibitions, educational programs, and collections. Inspired by its surrounding communities, MOCA connects diverse audiences and cultures by providing a welcoming place to encounter new ideas and voices and nurturing a lifelong love of the arts. MOCA developed from the Center of Contemporary Art which was inaugurated in 1981. The establishment of the permanent collection coincided with the institution's move into their current building designed by Charles Gwathmey of GSNY in 1996.  Under the direction of Executive Director Chana Sheldon and a newly installed Board of Trustees, MOCA showcased My Name is Maryan curated by Alison Gingeras during Miami Art Week in 2021, which will travel to the Tel Aviv Museum of Art in late 2022. An accompanying exhibition catalog highlighting key works will be published, along with other archival imagery and critical essays. The museum also premiered AFRICOBRA: Messages to the People during Art Basel Miami Beach in 2018. AFRICOBRA: Nation Time, the next chapter of the exhibition, was selected as an official Collateral Event of Biennale Arte 2019 in Venice, Italy. Other original exhibitions include: Michael Richards: Are You Down? co-curated by Alex Fialho and Melissa Levin (2021), Raul de Nieves: Eternal Return and The Obsidian Heart curated by Risa Puleo (2020), and Alice Rahon: Poetic Invocations curated by Teresa Arcq (2019). Press Contacts: Akilah Child   Director of Communications achild@mocanomi.org Jackie Anyanwu Senior Account Executive, Cultural Counsel jackie@culturalcounsel.com Rachel Roberts Account Executive, Cultural Counsel rachel@culturalcounsel.com  Jane Drinkard Account Coordinator, Cultural Counsel jane@culturalcounsel.com Flannery Strain Account Coordinator, Cultural Counsel flannery@culturalcounsel.com

New Artworks by Renowned Mixed Media Artist Vito Bonanno

Announcing new works by internationally collected artist Vito Bonanno taps into the daily emotional and social challenges of living with autism, placing his innermost feelings onto canvas. The New England-based artist’s work is image and concept-driven and embedded in his personal philosophy. His art contains the essence of his life, feelings, thoughts, and dreams, coupled with objects or topics that “get stuck in his head”, including traffic lights, grids, ceiling fans, graffiti, and pop culture. Corporate clients include AMAZON, Google, and The Hartford.

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.

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.

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. 

For more information about this artist, for inquiries, or to commission work contact vito@vitobonanno.com / visit www.vitobonanno.com

Faena Art To Exhibit Immersive Installation By Artist Kelly Breez

FAENA ART TO EXHIBIT IMMERSIVE INSTALLATION BY ARTIST KELLY BREEZ AT THE FAENA ART PROJECT ROOM   The exhibition 'Dirt's Dive' will pay homage to the bar scene of South Florida and feature community events during Miami Art Week 2023 Opening Friday, November 17, 2023, Faena  Art will present a new exhibition by Miami-based artist Kelly Breez in the Faena Art Project Room. Breez will transform the Faena Art Project Room into an immersive dive bar experience for visitors titled 'Dirt's Dive', an homage to the progressively declining bar scene of old South Florida. The exhibition reimagines the ever-changing nightlife of Miami through the unique perspective of a local artist. Faena Art will host a special celebratory event for 'Dirt's Dive' during Miami Art Week on Wednesday, December 6, 2023, featuring a culinary food truck-inspired experience with James Beard award-winning restauranteur and chef Paul Qui. A catalyst for innovative, site-specific, and immersive practices, Faena Art bridges the popular and the experimental, making art accessible to all, fostering new models for community-oriented exploration that transcend the traditional boundaries of art, science, philosophy, and social practice.   In 'Dirt's Dive,' artist Kelly Breez (b. 1985) will create her own fantastical bar scene incorporating dynamic sculptures and drawings as well as life-sized cut-out figures reminiscent of assemblages by Edward Kienholz and Alex Katz's work. The exhibition will also feature sculptures and drawings in the style of colorful bar ephemera to create an immersive and interactive installation. The artist will manipulate scale in the installation, imbuing the sense of an alternate universe, a fantasy-like scene that balances the familiar and unfamiliar. Breez, who was born and raised in South Florida, will incorporate personal history and local anecdotes into her aesthetic storytelling.    The artist has always been inspired by the unique motif that is South Florida nightlife. This project brings attention back to the disappearing establishment of the dive bar, a place that offered an opportunity for chance encounters with iconic local characters such as the old Florida fisherman—someone who tells stories filled with wisdom, grit, humor, and unique knowledge of the sea. In this way, the artist addresses the theme of authenticity, subtly pointing out the unfortunate loss of Miami's iconic old haunts and the authenticity attached to them.    'A dive-y bar is the ultimate equalizer,' says artist Kelly Breez. 'The environment just puts everyone on the same page. No one is a stranger, everyone is a character, anything is on the table. Collaboration feels intrinsic in a dive. Lots of ideas are always flying around. I love that energy.'   Collaborator Chef Paul Qui says: 'Dive bars for me were the epicenter of creativity.  They brought together people from high and low places, Celebrities and misfits alike.  It was a space where nothing mattered but the conversation at hand. I realize now that those moments in the height of my youth would be the fuel that would drive my creative path.'   One of the earliest sorts of communal spaces, the bar has come to represent a place where people gather to regale one another with experiences and stories. The bar as a communal space recounts both a familiar and an unfamiliar tale – a mysterious meeting place where relationships begin and end, and business deals made and broken. The exhibition is a striking, humorous celebration of the bar as a pillar of community and expression.    WHERE     Faena Art Project Room  3420 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL 33140        WHEN    Friday, November 17, 2023  - February 9, 2024    PROGRAM   Friday, November 17:  Opening Celebration   Wednesday, December 6, 6:00–9:00pm:  Food truck experience with Paul Qui, featuring specialty cocktails and live DJ performance.    SPECIAL THANKS  Special thanks to Chase Sapphire for their generous support of Faena Art's projects at Miami Art Week 2023.   Portrait of Kelly Breez. Image by Vanessa Diaz.  About Kelly Breez  Kelly Breez (b. 1985, Lake Worth, FL) is a multidisciplinary artist who lives and works in Miami, FL. She works in -and combines- painting, illustration, humor, sculpture and installation. Her work chronicles life's absurdities-particularly in its seedier elements. The high gloss Bar Top resin that covers many of her pieces is a direct nod to her greatest muse and inspiration: the smoky old treasure-filled dive bar, crowded with human and non-human relics.    About Faena Art   Faena Art is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization that commissions, produces, and houses cross-disciplinary artistic experiences with an emphasis on cultivating community and supporting artists locally and abroad. A catalyst for innovative, site-specific, and immersive practices, Faena Art bridges the popular and the experimental making art accessible to all. Faena Art fosters new models for social interaction transcending the traditional boundaries of art, science, philosophy, and social practice. Established in 2011, Faena Art continues to commission major installations and exhibitions that are a major highlight of Miami Art Week and the city's vibrant  cultural scene at large. Over the past 12 years, their programming has expanded to include a biannual art prize, permanent exhibition spaces, and residencies across both Miami and Buenos Aires.   For additional information about Faena Art please visit: https://www.faenaart.org/.

Renowned Mixed Media Artist Vito Bonanno Is Spreading The Word Through His Art That Autism Is A Creative & Magical Gift

Vito 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 information. 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.

Artist Vito Bonanno pictured with his work at Six Summit Gallery NYC November 2022

Internationally collected artist Vito Bonanno taps into the daily emotional and social challenges of living with autism, placing his innermost feelings onto canvas. The New England-based artist’s work is image and concept-driven and embedded in his personal philosophy. His art contains the essence of his life, feelings, thoughts, and dreams, coupled with objects or topics that “get stuck in his head”, including traffic lights, grids, ceiling fans, graffiti, and pop culture. Corporate clients include AMAZON, Google, and The Hartford.

Vito Bonanno’s Red, 2017 Spray paint, acrylic paint, paint marker, artist marker on canvas, 36″H x 24″W x 1.5″D. *This piece is available for sale through ArtLifting, both the original piece and prints are available.

Most recently, the artist completed a solo exhibition at Six Summit Gallery NYC Port Authority Location Public Exhibition Space titled Beauty & Chaos II. The gallery is located at 625 8th Avenue, South Building Floors 1 & 2, New York, New York. The exhibition was comprised of older works of Bonanno’s, combined with paintings that he created throughout the Pandemic, as well works from Spring and Summer 2022. The exhibition could be viewed as a “retrospective” of sorts for the artist, with a history of paintings for art lovers and collectors to experience – while also understanding the deeper meaning of the artist’s body of work.

Vito Bonanno’s King Kong, 2014. In the permanent collection of Amazon.
Aerosol, acrylic, craypas, paint marker, archival glitter on canvas
53.5“H x 63.5”W framed

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.

Vito Bonanno’s Cookin with Greece, 2018
Acrylic paint, india ink, paint pens on canvas
24”H x 24”W x 1.5″D

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.

Vito Bonanno’s Daffy Goes To Waterbury with a Ninja Turtle, 2014. Aerosol, acrylic, paint pen, craypas, archival glitter on canvas, 41.5″H x 41.5″W framed.

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 Bonanno’s Girl Crush, 2014. Aersol, acrylic, craypas, paint pen, marker on canvas, 29.5”H x 29.5”W framed.

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.

“Unfiltered V: Vito Bonanno Riding with the Train Girls”, at Akus Gallery at Eastern CT State University 2012 (Installation View with the artist Vito Bonanno)

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.

Artist Vito Bonanno pictured with his work

The New England-based artist’s work is image and concept-driven and embedded in his personal philosophy. His art contains the essence of his life, feelings, thoughts, and dreams, coupled with objects or topics that “get stuck in his head”, including traffic lights, grids, ceiling fans, graffiti, and pop culture. For more information about this artist, for inquiries, or to commission work contact vito@vitobonanno.com / visit www.vitobonanno.com

JORGE M. PEREZ'S EL ESPACIO 23 KICKS OFF ART SEASON WITH OPENING OF 'TO WEAVE THE SKY'

Free to the Public, the Contemporary Art Space's Fourth Show Sheds Light on Textile Abstractions Across Generations and Cultures 

Frank Stella

El Espacio 23 (EE23) – the contemporary art space founded by leading philanthropist, entrepreneur and art collector Jorge M. Pérez – has debuted its highly anticipated fourth exhibition, titled To Weave the Sky: Textile Abstractions from the Jorge M. Pérez Collection. On display from Nov. 2, 2023 to August 2024, the show celebrates numerous textile-based works from the Pérez collection – many of which have never been publicly exhibited before – and engages these acquisitions as focal points from which to structure creative dialogues with artworks presented in other mediums. The exhibition highlights works from historic and contemporary artists.

Alfred Jensen

"Art will always serve as a universal language that helps bridge cultures and brings people together," said Jorge M. Pérez. "Textile works in particular open up a unique window into many diverse traditions, showing how everyday materials and timeless craftsmanship can come together to inspire new, unique methods of creative expression. We look forward to the meaningful dialogues that will come about as a result of this latest show." 

Featuring works from over 100 intergenerational artists from around the world, To Weave the Sky is inspired by weaving's traditional ties to abstraction and geometry, landscape and the organic, tactility and intimacy, and indigenous cosmologies and ritual. Curated by Tobias Ostrander, Estrellita B. Brodsky Curator at Large, Latin America at Tate Modern, in close dialogue with curators of the Pérez Collection, Patricia M. Hanna and Anelys Alvarez, the show attempts to uncover contemporary fascination with the medium – one that has been historically marginalized to the genre of craft within Western art contexts.

Igshaan Adams

"Our interest in textile-based works, whether sewn, woven, quilted, or collaged, arose about ten years ago when the Pérez Collection acquired works by Olga de Amaral, Robert Motherwell, Polly Apfelbaum, Frances Trombly and Ximena Garrido Lecca, all of whom are included in this exhibition," says Hanna. "In previous exhibitions, we've honed in on a specific geographic region or overarching theme. With this year's show, we wanted to honor the centuries-old tradition of textiles. When conceptualizing the exhibition, we allowed the textile-based contemporary works in the collection to be the catalyst and inspiration for the dialogues created among the artists."

Joan Mitchell

To Weave the Sky features five distinct sections, all of which contribute to the overall exploration of textile abstractions: 

Chromatic Structures: This section of the exhibition celebrates the "color-blocking" present in many of the works displayed and how they articulate a dynamic play between the sensuality and optic dynamism of strong color and the mathematical rationality of geometry. Works include those by renowned artists such as Kenneth Noland, Gene Davis, and Frank Stella, as well as younger artists such as Patrick Dean Hubbell, Ad Minolitti, Candida Alvarez and Miami-based Frances Trombly. 

Landscape Gestures: The paintings and contemporary weavings brought together in this group explore aesthetics that connect formal abstraction to land, textiles, organic materials and rectilinear patterning. It takes inspiration from several Abstract Expressionist artists who were directly inspired by landscape and wove paint across their surfaces in gestures that recall the rhythmic rituals of weaving. Various artworks engage palettes and tones that reference organic matter, with several others referencing the sky and shifts of light across a landscape. Multiple compositions recall the patchworks of agricultural plots of land, while additional pieces are produced using materials associated with extractive landscape histories. This section includes paintings by Helen Frankenthaler, Joan Mitchell and Lee Krasner, as well as contemporary weavings by Igshaan Adams, Sanford Biggers, Nnenna Okore and Kapwani Kiwanga. 

Spiritual Constellations: Indigenous cosmologies that tie weaving to spiritual knowledge inform many of the works in this section, the majority of which draw from Latin American or African ancestral traditions. Gold is engaged in several works as both an alchemical material and a Pre-Hispanic and Spanish Colonial symbol of divine light. Relations between knots, numerical sequences and astrology are evoked in multiple pieces. Weavings in the form of nets link several works to rivers and their cultural significance as sacred and life-giving sites. Andean traditions that recognize woven fabrics as living "beings," whose organic fibers contain vital energies, are references for additional works. Others engage African textiles and symbols historically related to status and power. This section includes works by Olga de Amaral, Rubem Valentim, Sheila Hicks, Ernesto Neto, Eamon Ore-Giron and Carolina Caycedo.

Political Fabric: This section presents works that engage fabrics, felt, clothing and embroidery to describe recent political situations and histories. Multiple works address displacement and migration conflicts, while others speak to feminist protest and activism. Tapestries, as ancient narrative forms, are engaged to depict examples of contemporary economic and political violence. Works by Teresa Margolles, Reynier Leyva Novo, Laura Lima, Ellen Lesperance and Ana Gallardo are showcased.

Threadbare: This area of the exhibition uses the metaphor of a threadbare fabric to present works that speak to emotional exposure, with the artist's works addressing issues of identity and psychological vulnerability. References to the bare human body, to Freudian traditions of exploring the self, and to beds and quilting as sites of both storytelling and desire, inform these works. This section includes pieces by Faith Ringgold, Ghada Amer, Philip Pearlstein, Guillermo Kuitca, Małgorzata Mirga-Tas, Yanira Collado and Bisa Butler.

Bernard Frize

To supplement the exhibit, EE23 will publish an accompanying catalog titled To Weave the Sky: Textile Abstractions from the Jorge M. Pérez Collection. The fully illustrated book features an essay by Ostrander and newly commissioned interviews with artists Polly Apfelbaum, Carolina Caycedo, Yanira Collado, Patrick Dean Hubbel and Nnenna Okore.

Johana Unzueta

As part of the show, EE23 will also continue its ongoing residency program, welcoming two new artists during the same week – Patrick Dean Hubbell and Maria A. Guzmán Capron. EE23 will welcome additional artists throughout 2024 including Irene Infantes, Yanelis Mora, Alice Wagner and Manuel Chavajay, among others. 

Visitors can enjoy the show free of charge. Hours of operation are Thursday to Saturday, 10am to 5pm. To reserve a time, and for more information about guided tours, please visit www.elespacio23.com or email info@elespacio23.com. Walk-ins are also welcome.

Sri Prabha: Resonator - Reanimator at Boca Raton Museum of Art

 

Sri Prabha's exhibition on view at the Boca Raton Museum of Art
Photo by Jacek Gancarz

Sri Prabha (b. 1969 Hyderabad, India; lives and works in Hollywood, FL) created a phenomenal site-specific multi-sensory installation at the Boca Raton Museum of Art that explores our connection to the natural world by commingling ideas from Vedic philosophy and science. His exhibition Resonator - Reanimator, is on view at the museum June 14 - October 22, 2023.

“Earth Force 2” by Sri Prabha, Courtesy Boca Raton Museum of Art

Abstract patterned digital projections sweep the walls, covering paintings and sculptures to create constantly shifting organic forms. Paired with audio of monks chanting, the overall feel is that of preparing the mind for meditation. Within the mind frame of meditation, visitors will see references to both the smallest and greatest elements of our universe.

Artist Sri Prabha
Photo by Monica McGivern

Spiraling, pulsing amorphous shapes call to mind the view through a microscope, and twinkling flashes of light are reminiscent of a telescope’s sight. Melded together, they will create a psychedelic environment of saturated colors.

Curated by Kelli Bodle, Associate Curator

Autistic Visual Artist Vito Bonanno's Work in the Corporate Collections of AMAZON, Google & The Hartford

'King Kong', part of Vito Bonanno's Obsessions & Meditations series - made with aerosol, acrylic, craypas, paint marker, archival glitter on canvas, 53.5 “ x 63.5” framed. This painting was acquired by Amazon, (6) six of Bonanno's original pieces for one of Amazon's corporate buildings in Seattle.

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.

Internationally collected artist Vito Bonanno taps into the daily emotional and social challenges of living with autism, placing his innermost feelings onto canvas. The New England-based artist's work is image and concept-driven and embedded in his personal philosophy. His art contains the essence of his life, feelings, thoughts, and dreams, coupled with objects or topics that "get stuck in his head", including traffic lights, grids, ceiling fans, graffiti, and pop culture. Corporate clients include AMAZON, Google, and The Hartford.

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.

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. 

For more information about this artist, for inquiries, or to commission work contact vito@vitobonanno.com / visit www.vitobonanno.com