Swide Magazine by Dolce&Gabbana

Soon to be seen in New York at Charles Bank Gallery, Mauro Bonacina – an artist, a communicator, or creator of content? Read the interview.

Class of 1977, born in Milan, but now a Londoner. Mauro Bonacina is a fresh and refreshing acquisition in terms of art. In search of meaning, creating or recreating content, at times revealing it. Mostly because we don’t have time to notice it ourselves. Things have meanings that can be interconnected by an invisible bridge that one might call interpretation.

Q. Where does life start for Mauro, what is the first image that comes to mind?
A. Milan… Although I don’t really have actual memories of the first image whar comes to my mind is a photograph where I am "fishing" for flowers with a homemade fishing rod that had a paper clip as bait.
Q. Your approach to art starts from which moment on?
A. Like any child - making funny drawings of family members with super long legs, huge round circles surrounded by lines to signify the sun, honeybees as massive stripy blobs and so on.

 

Q. How does you career evolve, and will evolve in the future?
A. Well I was very lucky to sell work to public collectors straight out of college and spent a few years working as an artist full time. Being so young I still didn’t understand the importance of having an artistic practice and probably spent more time thinking on how to be a successful artist rather than just think like an artist. So I decided to readdress my practice and inevitably I had to make many steps backwards before I could take any forwards. I guess one of the most difficult things as a young artist is understand what it is that you want to say with your work, what position you want to take. I am now in a position where the intentions of my practice are very clear to me and hopefully with the right opportunities I will have the space to say what I have to say.

Q. Your work wants to create which response?
A. I just want to give my audience a ball...I don t mind whichever way they want to play with it as long as they really want to play.

Q. Your favourite installation and why?
A. I don’t have a favourite but I can mention a few...The golf Ball by Slominski, one of the black and white rooms by Sol Lewitt, balloon installation by Martin Creed, huge light bulb by Hugo Rondinone… and more.
Q. Tell us about your last/new exhibition.
A. I am currently working on my upcoming solo show at Charles Bank in New York. You can also see some of my work at Lucie Fontaine in Milan and Kunstverein Stuttgart.
Q. Is Art an object? Would it exist without an audience?
A. To me it is a representation of an idea which does not necessarily have to be an object. Art without an audience today makes no sense at all to me.
Q. People will probably never be able to go about without clothes, do you think they could without art?
A. Do you think that we can sleep without lying down?

 

Swide's 5Q/A
1. Artist or inventor?
Mauro: Artist
2. Fashion or anti-fashion?
Mauro: depends on the context
3. Expression or discretion?
Mauro: Expression
4. Fantasy or reality?
Mauro: Reality
5. Desire or inspire?
Mauro: we all want both

 

Interview and Text by Acelya Yonac

Check our Mauro Bonacina’s website for more updates on his work:
www.maurobonacina.com

TAGS: artist painter installation performance charles bank gallery mauro bonacina acelya yonac luxury online magazine dolce&gabbana dolce & gabbana d&g D &G