Raymond Bonilla is a nationally recognized illustrator and fine artist in Buffalo, NY. Raymond graduated from the State University in New York at Fredonia in 2005 with a degree in New Media and Illustration. He continued his studies at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco where he completed his Masters of Fine Art in 2009. He was awarded Best in Show in the Great Lakes Emerging Artist Competition, was a finalist in the Artists Magazine Annual Art Competition, has been awarded Gold Medals in advertising from both Society of Illustrators of New York and Los Angeles, and juried into the Communication Arts Illustration Annual. He currently lives in Buffalo, New York where he spends his time painting and teaching part-time at SmART School and Visual Arts Passage. He is represented by Principle Gallery in Alexandria,VA, Abend Gallery in Denver, CO and Meibohm Fine Arts Gallery in East Aurora, NY.
Artist Statement
My interest in painting and animation lies in the role of an “illustrator as a visual journalist” and the subject of memory. While painting and animation have approaches and aesthetics that may be unique to themselves, at their core these disciplines both allow artists the ability to document the human experience. My art is rooted in the influences of impressionist painters, illustrators, and animators of the 19th and 20th centuries. In my work I use an artistic language that is deeply rooted in the visual vocabulary of figurative and abstract art of the past. From these, I take the traditional artistic tools of color and form, which allow me to immerse viewers in my pictures, allowing those viewers to appreciate my work both for its literal and abstract qualities. I strive to create art that records my observation of the world around me, whether it be a direct observation or a statement of internal reflection. Ultimately, I seek to make work that is a "visual journal" of the human condition.
Selected Exhibitions
Solo Exhibitions
2023
Pa’lante, Meibohm Fine Arts Gallery, East Aurora, NY
2020
Recuerdos Privados/ Private Memories, Abend Gallery, Denver CO
2019
Epílogos Privados / Private Epilogues, Meibohm Fine Arts Gallery, East Aurora, NY
Group Exhibitions
2022
LA Art Show, Los Angeles, CA
2021
LA Art Show, Los Angeles, CA
Five and Under, Arcadia Contemporary, Los Angeles, CA
31st Annual Holiday Miniatures Show, Abend Gallery, Denver, CO Small Works, Principle Gallery, Alexandria, VA Richeson75 International Art Competitions: Landscape, Seascape & Architecture Exhibition, Richeson Art Gallery, Kimberly WI
2020
The Great American Paint In Traveling Exhibition, Gallery CERO, Longwood, FL Black Friday Sale, Abend Gallery, Denver CO
30th Annual Holiday Miniatures Show, Abend Gallery, Denver, CO Flower Power, Arcadia Contemporary, Los Angeles, CA
The First Annual Vining Gallery Invitational Group Exhibition, Vining Gallery, Indianapolis, IN
5x5 Project VII, Abend Gallery, Denver, CO
Five and Under, Arcadia Contemporary, Los Angeles, CA
Wish You Were Here, Studio Gallery, San Francisco, CA Society of Illustrators New York 62nd Annual Exhibition, New York, NY
2019
Solo Exhibition: Epílogos Privados / Private Epilogues, Meibohm Fine Arts Gallery, NY Dusk To Dawn, Meibohm Fine Arts, East Aurora, NY
In a Nutshell, Meibohm Fine Arts, East Aurora, NY
5x5 Project VI, Abend Gallery, Denver, CO
Horizons, Abend Gallery, Denver,CO
29th Annual MINI SHOW, Abend Gallery, Denver,CO
2018
28th annual MINI SHOW, Abend Gallery,CO
Ray Bonilla Lights Up!, Resource Art, Buffalo, NY
Bonilla: Process Work, ART LAB Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA
Summer Show: The Corridors Gallery at Hotel Henry,Resource Art, Buffalo, NY Summer Salon, Meibohm Fine Arts Gallery, East Aurora, NY
2017
Art Invasion House Party IV, Resource Art, Buffalo, NY
Art Invasion House Party III, Resource Art, Buffalo, NY Raymond Bonilla: Recent Works, Fredonia Incubator Gallery, Dunkirk, NY
2016
Observed and Imagined , Meibohm Fine Arts Gallery, East Aurora, NY Artist to Artist, Benjaman Gallery Group, Buffalo, NY
2015
Society of Illustrators New York 57th Annual Exhibition, New York, NY Society of Illustrators Los Angeles 53rd Annual Exhibition, Los Angeles, CA The Ridge, Meibohm Fine Arts Gallery, East Aurora, NY
2013
Society of Illustrators New York 55th Annual Exhibition, New York, NY Society of Illustrators Los Angeles 51st Annual Exhibition, Los Angeles, CA
2012
Illustrators West 50th Annual Exhibition, Los Angeles, CA
2011
Delicious, Studio Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2010
Tiny, Studio Gallery, San Francisco, CA Mirror Mirror, Meyer Gallery, Park City, UT
2009
Tiny, Studio Gallery, San Francisco, CA Portrait Invitational Exhibition, Blue Gallery, Kansas City, MO Requiem,Gallery 688, San Francisco, CA
Publications/Interviews
2021
“Playful Miniatures” American Art Collector, December 2021
2019
Wilder views found in exhibition of small works, Jay Moran WBFO, December 23rd, 2019
2016
Centerfold: Twinbrook Station on the Reb Line, The Public, September 28th, 2016 In Art Galleries This Fall, The Public, September 14th, 2016
Features: Raymond Bonilla, Communication Arts Magazine, July/August 2016 Two-person exhibit at Meibohm blurs observation, imagination, Buffalo News, September 15th, 2016
Artists Seen: Raymond Bonilla, The Public, April 20th, 2016
2015
Stirring Memory, Artists on Art Magazine, Fall 2015
Visiting Artist Lectures/Presentations/Critiques
Lecture /Presentation, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY
Lecture /Presentation, Fashion Institute of Technology, New York,NY
Lecture /Presentation, Wesmont College, Santa Barbara,CA
Lecture /Presentation, Academy of Art University, San Francisco, CA
Lecture /Presentation, University of Hartford, West Hartford, CT
Lecture /Presentation,Northern Michigan University, Marquette,MI
Lecture /Presentation,The University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA
Museum Collections
Ellen Noel Art Museum of the Permian Basin, Odessa, TX
Burchfield Penny Art Center, Buffalo,NY