Artists page with bio and addtional works. link
The most recent collection of Bonilla’s stories is called Pa’lanteand is on exhibit at Meibohm Fine Arts in East Aurora from Saturday, November 18 through Saturday, December 23.
Ray Bonilla concentrates on the beauty of soft illumination on the mundane. His paintings seduce the viewer through a controlled narrative of rich brushwork and minimal lighting. Each work is a silent story waiting to be deciphered Each artwork is a chapter in a Bonilla’s novel.
Pa’lante, Spanish slang for “moving forward,” examines Bonilla’s life events since his last solo exhibition at Meibohm in 2019. The paintings incorporate Buffalo scenes as metaphors for reflection on family deaths, living through a pandemic, making a living as an artist, and becoming a father. “With each piece I try to capture a meaningful moment,” Bonilla says.
Each painting is inspired by scenes he repeatedly sees in Allentown on daily walks with his wife and daughter; depending on the lighting and what is happening in his life that day, he perceives the buildings differently as though they possess different identities. The After the Storm drawing and painting reflect upon a moment during the holidays last year after a November snow when he was walking, wondering about being a new parent, and if he’d made the right decision to quit teaching to become a full-time artist. The two studies capture a moment in time when the light highlights a powerful single building with some wear and tear but with the hope of things to come.
Repair reflects on a period when Bonilla was trying to put his life back together after a stressful time raising a child through the pandemic. The composition includes a small home enveloped in darkness as the day’s last rays of light fall on the cluttered porch filled with mementos. Bonilla understands that the viewer won’t understand the story behind every painting, but he hopes to create shared emotional experiences.
Bonilla graduated from the State University in New York at Fredonia with a degree in New Media and Illustration and continued his studies at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco where he completed his Masters of Fine Art. His artwork has been awarded Gold Medals in advertising from both Society of Illustrators of New York and Los Angeles, juried into the Communication Arts Illustration Annual and is in the permanent collection of the Burchfield Penney Art Center and Ellen Noel Art Museum in Odessa, Texas.
Bonilla is a sought-after instructor for online courses and seminars through internationally renowned programs such as SmART School and Visual Arts Passage, and he is continually creating illustrations for the New Yorker Magazine, Netflix, The National Labor Federation, Cruising World magazine and Uncle Nearest Whiskey while also creating paintings for Principle Gallery in Alexanderia, VA, Abend Gallery in Denver, CO and, of course, Meibohm Fine Arts
Alberto Rey, Buffalo Spree magazine, November 2023
· Dimensions are in inches, height precedes width.
· All works titled & signed by the artist.
· Additional works by Ray Bonilla are available through Meibohm Fine Arts.
· View the full exhibition and additional works at meibohmfinearts.com
· Artist’s website: raymondbonilla.com; Instagram: @raybonillapainter; facebook: raybonillapainter
Catalog of Exhibition:
1. Leftovers #2
18 x 12, oil on panel
1450.00 (sold)
2. Study for- After the Storm #2
9 x 12, oil on panel
900.00 (sold)
3. Study for- After the Storm #2
9 x 12, mixed media on paper
675.00
4. Study for- Leftovers #2
6 x 4, oil on panel
495.00 (sold)
5. Leftovers #1
18 x 12, oil on panel
1400.00
6. Wednesday Morning
36 x 36, oil on panel
6100.00
7. After the Storm #2
18 x 24, oil on panel
3300.00 (sold)
8. Repair
30 x 40, oil on panel
6100.00
9. Study for- Walk to Casa Azul
6 x 12, oil on panel
800.00
10. Study for- Last Light on Bidwell
6 x 12, oil on panel
800.00 (sold)
11. Afternoon Walk
18 x 36, oil on panel
5150.00
12. Last Monday
36 x 36, oil on panel
6000.00
13. Bingo
30 x 24, oil on panel
5300.00
14. Study for- Wednesday Morning #2
8 x 8, acrylic on paper
675.00 (sold)
15. Study for- Last Monday
8 x 8, mixed media on paper
550.00 (sold)
16. Study for- Together
10-1/2 x 10-1/2, mixed media on paper
600.00 (sold)
17. Study for- Last Light on Bidwell
6 x 12, mixed media on paper
600.00
18. Study for- After the Storm #1
12 x 9, mixed media on paper
650.00
19. Afternoon Walk
18 x 36, oil on panel
5150.00
20. Study for- Leftovers #2
12 x 8, mixed media on paper
650.00 (sold)
21. Study for- After the Storm #1
12 x 9, oil on panel
900.00 (sold)
22. Before Dinner
36 x 36, oil on panel
6200.00
23. Before Grace #2
12 x 24, oil on panel
2850.00
24. Night Night
24 x 30, oil on panel
5000.00
