About The Artist
Shawn Bonsky
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Biography
I was born in St. Helens Oregon, and moved to Detroit Michigan at a very young age. When i was 11 my family moved again, but this time to rural South Carolina. I think it was this move that most influences my art. I grew up loving cities, the power lines and tall buildings everywhere, and as I was entering my teen years I experienced the beauty of open fields and empty forests. I attended Florida State University with an academic scholarship, and tried to learn as much as I could about our world, about beauty and culture and about life in general. After a few years i was becoming restless and I felt I had learned all I could in a college setting, so I packed up and moved to New York City to learn about life the hard way. I wandered the streets of that great city looking for beauty and trying to learn more about life, eventually squatting in the lower east side and living in a self-made shack in Brooklyn. A couple years of this and i became restless again, and this time i figured i would try Japan. I lived in Hiroshima for a couple months, had an art show, and realized that I missed the states too much to stay there. I moved to Philadelphia and fell in love with the town, and I have lived here since. I paint acrylic on canvas that i stretch myself. I am always seeking to challenge myself and try out new ideas. Throughout my life I have always spent a lot of my time researching light and color and the idea of beauty. My greatest goal is to create a piece of art that is regarded as beautiful by people from all walks of life and all cultures. I'm not sure if it is possible, but it is my goal nonetheless.Statement
the feeling of a warm body next to me on a bench in the autumn. cool breeze through an open door and watching the rise and fall of a cats belly as it lies in the sunbeams. crunching and shuffling through piles of red, orange, brown, and yellow. sweaters and hoodies adding more softness to hugs, and holding a person you feel you know deeply as you stare off into the abyss. there is a song for every feeling, an image for every memory, a smell for every dream. we weave them together and look at them in long lines, on bus rides, on our front porches as we wait for a friend from out of town. when we are young we have trouble dealing with the dirtier strands, and as we age we accept them, but still feel sorry for the holes that have worn through, the emptiness in our minds where there used to be a story. to me those holes are the source of beauty. we see something, and it reminds us of something else lost long ago, and so we name it beautiful. i seek to recreate the edges of those holes. to create images of situations that conjure up a memory you may have had, something similar to a feeling you once experienced. to make images that allow you to place yourself in them, to change them around and use it as a patch for a hole you have, to make your story more complete. in my paintings i attempt to capture the beauty of faded memories and dreams. i think there are certain things in life that all people have been astounded by, hence my large skies, distant horizons, and imaginary creatures. i hope to create not moments of greatness, but rather moments where greatness has become mundane and attainable, moments that the viewer can place themselves inside. i try to create images that are like a warm blanket that the viewer can wrap themselves up in as protection from the coldness of the world. while certainly every image has a certain story for me, every color a name and every hill an old feeling, i know my ghost will not be there to whisper the stories to every passerby. so while some of my pieces may be branded as simply pretty or illustrative, by nature of their "prettiness" they endear themselves to certain viewers who are subconsciously reminded of something once forgotten. the image becomes a patch in their memory, and is weaved into their own story. my greatest desire is to create a work that any viewer can place into their story regardless of their culture. i believe that this goal is largely unattainable. however i also believe that is has been the pursuit of unattainable goals that has yielded the greatest triumphs for mankind.
Artist History
2007
Eyes Full of Lies
Solo show at AllRise Gallery in Chicago IL (May 11- June 7)
The Third Annual
Group show at Padlock Gallery in Philadelphia PA (Apr 14 - May 5)
Sometimes the Adventure is in Your Heart
Solo show at Conspiracy Showroom in Philadelphia PA (Jan 11- Feb 11)
2006
Antagonist Presents
Group show at Niagara Bar in New York City NY (March 9)
Burn353 Vs
Group show at Coffee Xpersso in Litchfield Il (May 6 - June 4)
Halloweaster
Group show with Micheal Hall at New Space in Philadelphia PA (April 7)
Danger! Danger!
Group show at Niagara Bar In New York City NY (May 29th-June 29th)
Boringbot vs Benna's II
Solo show at Benna's Cafe in Philadelphia PA (July 13- August 9)
The Perfect Man
Group show at All Rise Gallery in Chicago Il (Sept 20 - Oct 11)
Birds Still Fly in the Cold
Solo show at Loo Gallery in Beckett MA (Sept 21 - Oct 20)
Space 1026 Annual Art Auction
Group show at Space 1026 in Philadelphia PA (Dec 15)
2005
Antagonist Presents
Group show at Niagara Bar in New York City NY (Feb 24)
Whatever Huh
Group show at Siberia Bar New York City (March 3)
Lubrica Mi Vida
Group show at Ashley Gallery in Philadelphia PA (May 6th - June 2)
Boringbot vs Benna's I
Solo show at Benna's Cafe in Philadelphia PA (June 17- July 13)
Antagonist Presents
Group show at Niagara Bar in New York City NY (July 14)
2004
Sad Then Glad
Solo show at Bar Koba in Hiroshima Japan (March 13-30)
Space 1026 Annual Art Auction
Group show at Space 1026 in Philadelphia PA (Dec 17)
2001
Art vs. Rock, Rock Wins
Solo show at FSU BFA warehouse in Tallahassee Fl.
Signed up on 05/22/2007
Category: Painting