Inspired by trips on the train, the streets of Harlem and social concerns that she’s observed, Bonnie has created a series of paintings that portray these interests in an array of color and, often, words. She calls this Journo Art. It is her attempt to document and thereby archive both the visual and sometimes the vocal by the use of words, social issues, music, sports and entertainment that have impacted people from the African diaspora. An avid reader, she is fascinated by both the visualization and patterns of words which evoke and make links that imbue, inform and remind her viewers of the time/era that is captured by her paintings. She frequently depicts the stories in her paintings in triptych form.
Bonnie always enjoyed painting from a young age, and at the suggestion of her art teacher she applied to Slade Art School in London, where she was born. It was at this point that she left England for the States. Although she took a few art classes during her senior year, any artistic ambitions remained dormant for several years. She would later take a few art classes at the Art Students League.
Her desire to create was ignited when, as a director of a tutoring program in Harlem, she decided to coordinate an art show both in Harlem and Soho as a fundraiser for the program. It was for the last fundraising event that she conceived the idea of creating a triptych of Young Black Love. The first of the three paintings for Young Black Love, the subject of this exhibition, Bonnie Phillips completed when she was pregnant with her first child, in 2003. She put the final touches on the last painting this month. In between that time she devoted her attention to raising her two sons with her husband Kofi. She began to take herself more seriously as an artist when she joined a group of talented women writers and artists in 2018. After her first meeting, it became clear of what her mission as an artist is.
As Bonnie began producing paintings,she became fascinated by a phenomenon that started to occur: she discovered the subjects of her paintings out in the world. She created the painting of the couple holding hands, she encountered their real-life image on the street as she left work. The young man that she created on canvas, his avatar, with the same facial features and attire, sat next to her on the train. These sightings displayed a synergy that astounded her, but affirmed her mission to paint the beauty and challenges of black and brown people in her community.
Inspired by trips on the train, the streets of Harlem and social concerns that she’s observed, Bonnie has created a series of paintings that portray these interests in an array of color and, often, words. She calls this Journo Art. It is her attempt to document and thereby archive both the visual and sometimes the vocal by the use of words, social issues, music, sports and entertainment that have impacted people from the African diaspora. An avid reader, she is fascinated by both the visualization and patterns of words which evoke and make links that imbue, inform and remind her viewers of the time/era that is captured by her paintings. She frequently depicts the stories in her paintings in triptych form.
Oil on canavs 40x30
Bonnie always enjoyed painting from a young age, and at the suggestion of her art teacher she applied to Slade Art School in London, where she was born. It was at this point that she left England for the States. Although she took a few art classes during her senior year, any artistic ambitions remained dormant for several years. She would later take a few art classes at the Art Students League.
Her desire to create was ignited when, as a director of a tutoring program in Harlem, she decided to coordinate an art show both in Harlem and SoHo as a fundraiser for the program. It was for the last fundraising event that she conceived the idea of creating a triptych of Young Black Love. The first of the three paintings for Young Black Love, the subject of this exhibition, Bonnie Phillips completed when she was pregnant with her first child, in 2003. She put the final touches on the last painting this month. In between that time she devoted her attention to raising her two sons with her husband Kofi. She began to take herself more seriously as an artist when she joined a group of talented women writers and artists in 2018. After her first meeting, it became clear of what her mission as an artist is.
As Bonnie began producing paintings, she became fascinated by a phenomenon that started to occur: she discovered the subjects of her paintings out in the world. She created the painting of the couple holding hands, she encountered their real-life image on the street as she left work. The young man that she created on canvas, his avatar, with the same facial features and attire, sat next to her on the train. These sightings displayed a synergy that astounded her, but affirmed her mission to paint the beauty and challenges of black and brown people in her community.
