[metaslider id=8884]
ZOE KIRIAZIS
Staff Writer
The work and creations of visual artists can be found all around campus as well as within Fredonia and Dunkirk communities. Raymond Bonilla, an instructor in the Department of Visual Arts and New Media, is the next artist to have his work displayed at the Technology Incubator.
From March 20 to May 12, students, faculty and the community can visit Bonilla’s art, displaying his life in Queens, his favorite moments growing up and the Fredonia campus community. Bonilla graduated from Fredonia in 2005 with a degree in new media and illustration, where he then continued his studies at the Academy of Art University in California and earned an MFA in 2009.
Many of the paintings in this exhibit expose detailed ideas, moments and metaphors throughout Bonilla’s life. Three sets of paintings were illustrations of three custodians found at Fredonia, titled “3 Kings.” Bonilla explained that a job title can alter perceptions towards people, like being a custodian. He then went on to explain that the custodians are the ones who shape people’s experiences on campus when they are either doing work or simply passing through a building to get to class.
Bonilla talked about showing who the people in his family are within his paintings and series. One illustration showed his grandmother in her home in Queens. Recalling his conversations with her, he talked about how “she’d give you her attention and take the time to give you an answer.”
He explained all the different accessories within the painting: his grandmother’s favorite blue mug out of which she would drink warm drinks in, the pill containers on the table she’d take every morning and his sketchbook in the corner that he takes with him every place he goes.
Through his soft brushstrokes and realistic renditions of everyday people, Bonilla is able to give life and energy to the situations that he paints.
There is no stopping Bonilla working as a freelance artist in Buffalo and as a professor at Fredonia.
“Do better paintings,” Bonilla said regarding the future for his work. His studio is already filled with the next art series he’s planning, based on his grandmother and to be highlighted within the coming months.