Arte / Arte

I am excited to share photos of my original art pieces that were recently acquired by a new corporate client, the one and only Amazon! They have made a purchase of 6 of my original art pieces for one of their corporate buildings in Seattle, Washington. The artwork was recently installed!

Other corporate clients that have purchased my artwork include The Hartford NC, CBRE Nashville and City Block. None of this would be possible without my relationship with ArtLifting, and I want to send a big THANK YOU to everyone there for these tremendous opportunities and their dedication to myself and the other artists they represent. I was introduced to this incredible organization through The Art of Autism — Artlifting is a very special non-profit whose mission is to empower individuals living with disabilities through the celebration and sale of their artwork.

I’m always in my studio working on new paintings. I have a lot of new pieces in progress, I’m working on a large scale series, where I start with a layer of India ink, then I layer over with acrylics and I’m considering to even add an oil paint overlay.

If you could take a look inside everything I am, mind, body and soul, you would see the images and feel the emotions that I put onto the canvas. My art is a true example of who I was and what I was feeling during the days any one piece was created. Those factors determine the images and colors that are used and is why many of my pieces are multi-layered, because they resemble the multi-layered, chaotic thought process of images and thoughts that call my mind their home.

My mind is a place where images, thoughts and words float around in a bumper-car like world, crashing and speeding in all directions. In wanting to clear my head sometimes of all this noise, I get some relief by taking these images and feelings and putting them down onto the canvas. Over the months of working on a series of works, this process gets repeated and layers are added over layers, sometimes obliterating the entire drawing underneath, other times allowing some of the under drawings to peak through.

Hello friends and collectors, I am very excited to announce that several of my original art pieces have been acquired by a new corporate client, the one and only Amazon! They have made a purchase of 6 of my original art pieces for one of their corporate buildings in Seattle, Washington. The art will be installed this fall, and I hope to have photos I can share with you once the installation is complete. Other corporate clients that have purchased my artwork include The Hartford NC, CBRE Nashville and City Block. None of this would be possible without my relationship with ArtLifting, and I want to send a big THANK YOU to everyone there for these tremendous opportunities and their dedication to myself and the other artists they represent. I was introduced to this incredible organization through The Art of Autism — Artlifting is a very special non-profit whose mission is to empower individuals living with disabilities through the celebration and sale of their artwork.

‘King Kong’, 2014 Obsessions & Meditations series.
Aerosol, acrylic, craypas, paint marker, archival glitter on canvas, 53.5“H x 63.5”W

King Kong pictured above is one of the handful of my artworks purchased by Amazon. Prints can be purchased directly from ArtLifting, they are produced on demand on either mounted wrapped canvas or giclee fine art paper in a variety of sizes here in the United States. High-quality print reproductions of my work can be purchased for your home or office. “From the 2014 Obsessions & Meditation Series, King Kong is a small part of the story of the series where the artist, who is autistic, tries to expel from his brain the constant barrage of images and thoughts that fight to be the dominant. The images, words and emotions on the canvas derive their life from either obsessions the artists struggles with, or the images and memories he uses to meditate on in order to bring order to the feeling of chaos and helplessness he feels dealing with the day to day life of living on the spectrum. The name, King Kong, hails back to a happy time when the artist was young and visited the King Kong ride at Universal Studios in FL. The graffiti that decorated the faux subway of the ride you passed by as you waited in line made an impression on him, and over 20 years later found itself with a new life on this canvas.”

‘Traffic Lights Plague Trolley Square’, 2015 Anxiety & Dreams series.
Spray paint, acrylic, paint stick on canvas, 46″H x 46″W x 1.5″D

Traffic Lights Plague Trolley Square is another piece purchased by Amazon. “From the Anxiety and Dreams series, the artist is autistic and struggles with typical images and happenings of daily life becoming obsessions that turn to anxiety. Trolley Square housed his studio, but graffiti got painted on the back of the building that slowly overtime caused anxiety, mostly because it reminded the artist that his disability prevented him from being independent enough to do his own tagging and youthful things. In his dreams, or on the canvas, he can find a feeling of control over these truths of things he missed out on in the past, or future. His mind has gone back to teenage years, of bands of that time. Bold images of traffic lights and toilets are there to protect him from the emotional upheaval he can feel when he thinks too hard about life.”

‘Daily Anxiety’, 2015 Anxiety & Dreams series.
Spray paint, acrylic, paint stick on canvas, 50″H x 50″W x 1.5″D

Prints can be purchased of my work directly from ArtLifting, whose mission is to empower individuals living with disabilities through the celebration and sale of their artwork. Prints are produced on demand on either mounted wrapped canvas or giclee fine art paper in a variety of sizes here in the United States. High-quality print reproductions for your home or office, available at: https://www.artlifting.com/collections/vito-bonanno

I also have many original art pieces for sale, and are adding to my new pieces all the time. Please check out my website, www.vitobonanno.com, to view available original art and contact me at vito@vitobonanno.com with any questions regarding availability, pricing, commission work and shipping.

Thank you everyone. Love and Be Safe–Vito

For years I’ve been writing and drawing in journals everyday, often multiple times a day. I have hundreds of full journals! Using a journal was a way of self-managing my stresses and fears. I still write in a journal daily, but my overall day to day life since I moved to the shoreline is more fulfilling, I have busier and more productive days, so my journal entries are more for pleasure then therapy. Much of the words and imagery found in my journals make their way onto my art.

I’ve been working on a lot of new art in my new studio. I like to work on many pieces at one time, adding layers over layers and images over images. Since 2017, I’ve been represented by Artlifting. Besides being a wonderful organization, they also offer prints of original works they represent for their artists. Most exciting, I was recently informed by Artlifting that they have secured the sale of 6 of my original art pieces to a well known international corporate client. This client is renovating their headquarters in Seattle, Washington, and each floor was assigned a “theme”. One of the themes was “Industrial”, and my work was the perfect fit. I’m very excited and will be able to provide more information about this notable moment in my art career to you all soon. Please stay tuned. Until then, “Be Safe and wish for the buildings!”

I’ve been working on lots of new art since I moved into my new studio in Old Saybrook, CT. It’s great to be setting up my new studio, I had a chance to unpack some artwork that I did not have a chance to finish before I moved, including these two pieces below. All the paint I used for these is gone so I might just get a few new colors and have a go at it!

My studio would not be mine if it did not have my favorite traffic lights. All these lights were given to me from people who understood my passion and life long love of traffic lights. The first was a gift from a police officer who I met in summer camp when I was 14 years old! That started it all!

A necessity for my inspiration and also to help keep me calm is my toilet collection (many gifts from friends who understood my love and obsession with them, it has to do with shape and circles), and of course my Ninja Turtles! I have quite the collection of Ninja Turtles. Working on making a place for a bunch of them in the new studio.

I have a lot of new art pieces available and have been greatly inspired by my new art space, please check out my new work and let me know if you are interested in anything. Browse through my site and see if something catches your eye! Email me for pricing and shipping info at Vito@VitoBonanno.com

Pinky, 2018

India Ink, Paint Pen, Acrylic Pen on Canvas
24″ x 24” x .5”
$695.00

Saatchi Art is the world’s largest online gallery, connecting people with art and artists they love. I was thrilled to be notified in mid-July that my art piece Family Feud & Graffiti from my newest series Anxiety & Dreams was chosen by Saatchi Art Chief Curator Rebecca Wilson and the Saatchi Art curation team to be featured in their New This Week 7/20/2015 Collection on Saatchi Art’s Homepage, the ‘Painting, Collage, Printmaking Collection’. Family Feud & Graffiti is made with spray paint, acrylic, and paint stick on canvas with dimensions of 30″ x 30″ x 1.5″.

Family Feud & Graffiti 2015

Rebecca Wilson is Chief Curator and Director, Art Advisory at Saatchi Art. She is based out of Venice, California and was formerly a Director at the Saatchi Gallery, London, where she was instrumental in the launch of the gallery’s online presence. In 2007 she created New Sensations, a prize for art students which identifies and supports the most exciting emerging artists in the UK. Prior to joining the Saatchi Gallery, Rebecca worked for 14 years in book and art magazine publishing:she was editor of ArtReview, and before that deputy editor of Modern Painters. She has over 10 years of experience working with emerging artists.

It was such a proud feeling to have my work selected and exclusively featured on Saatchi Art’s Homepage. You can imagine what it must have felt like for me when I was notified a second time in late-July that my art piece Trolly Square & Traffic Lights, also from my Anxiety & Dreams series, was chosen by Saatchi Art Associate Curator Katherine Henning and the Saatchi Art curation team to be featured in their Street Art Collection. Trolly Square & Traffic Lights is made with pray paint, acrylic, and paint stick on canvas with dimensions of 30″ x 30″ x 1.5″

Saatchi Art Associate Curator Katherine Henning is based in Los-Angeles, California. She received her MA in History of Art and the Art Market: Modern and Contemporary Art from Christie’s Education, New York, and her BA in English Literature (Creative Writing) from University of Southern California. Some of her favorite art historical movements are Impressionism, Abstract Expressionism, and Fauvism. She includes in her list of favorite contemporary artists Yayoi Kusama, Richard Serra, James Turrell, and Kehinde Wiley.

I am going to be featured as Artist of the Day on Saatchi Art this Sunday, August 16, 2015.  My last art feature on Saatchi’s Homepage was in April 2015. My art piece Downtown Traffic Lights Plague the Milford Building from my Obsessions & Meditations series was selected to be included in the collection, ‘In Celebration of Basquiat and Street Art’, curated by Jessica McQueen, the Assistant Curator at Saatchi Art.

I was honored to participate in a great event for a wonderful cause on July 24, 2015 in Miami’s Wynwood Arts District, Art for Autism. I was invited to donate artwork for this event, which was organized and hosted by the American Autism Association. Twelve little gems from my Truck’N With Vito! series were donated and exhibited for this spectacular showcase held at the Pan American Art Projects gallery in Wynwood. The evening was dedicated to exhibiting the local, talented artists within the autism community, displaying their artwork alongside professional visual artists on the autism spectrum.

The mission of the American Autism Association is to help families through their journey as they raise a child with autism. The organization offers information, support for families, and free of cost recreational programs or workshops for families. I am happy that the proceeds from the artwork sales at Art for Autism benefit the local autism community, this is something that I truly care about. The American Autism Association was a great organization to work with, they thanked all those who were able to attend the Art for Autism event. Autistic artists from around the world were more than happy to display their hard work for the cause, and equally appreciate the support from our local and national communities. Overall Art for Autism was a success and we could not have done it without our amazing supporters and sponsors Wynwood Brewing, Insomnia Cookies, Sweet Jalane’s, and many more!

Thanks to the event, the American Autism Association will be able to fund two more recreational and therapy programs in South Miami and New York. These programs help to enrich the lives of autistic children in the area and provide support to families. If you are interested in attending, please email programs@myautism.org for any inquiries or more information. Please visit the website to learn about AAA’s recreational programs in Miami and New York here. You can see the photos from the event on AAA’s Facebook page here.  A huge thank you to Miami Art Scene™ who was integral for providing local, national and international coverage of the event. We were lucky to have caught the interest of numerous visual arts organizations and tons of media coverage. Check out more info about the event on WLRN Public Radio and Television, who picked up the story and helped us spread awareness. Read the amazing article here to find out more about the families, artists, and supporters who attended the event.

I am proud and honored to have been asked to participate in an exhibition of previous awardees from the VSA Emerging Artists Program in the Kennedy Center’s Hall of Nations with sponsorship from Volkswagen Group of America. This exhibition will be showcased as part of the celebrations for the 25th Anniversary of the ADA and 40th Anniversary of VSA and will open on Friday, July 10, 2015. This exhibition will include the work of up to 20 artists who will represent the past 13 years of the VSA Emerging Young Artist Program. I was an awardee in 2009. Curated by Stephanie Moore. She has chosen Daffy Goes to Waterbury with a Ninja Turtle and SECR Toilet to be part of the exhibition that will run somewhere from June-August.

Stephanie Moore is currently the Executive Director of The Center for Craft, Creativity & Design in Asheville, NC. Moore was previously the Director of Visual Arts for VSA, an affiliate of The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, for 18 years. While in this post she was responsible for providing the overall direction and production of all visual arts exhibitions and activities at a national level.  Moore established the VSA emerging artist program supported by Volkswagen Group of America in 2002 and curated over 40 exhibitions including Revealing Culture, a groundbreaking exhibition held at the Smithsonian Institution’s International Gallery and designed by Michael Graves & Associates.  Moore holds a BA in art history and studio art from James Madison University and an MA in museum studies/nonprofit management and the art of underrepresented cultures from George Washington University.

Since 2002, VSA and Volkswagen Group of America have teamed up to recognize and showcase the work of emerging young artists living with disabilities, ages 16-25, who are currently residing in the United States. This collaboration creates opportunities for these artists at a critical time when many are making the life-defining choice to pursue arts-based careers. VSA and Volkswagen are committed to sustainability and investing in the future of young artists living with disabilities.

Skate Park Krusty is off to Tokyo, Japan! I’m super excited to announce that my art piece was chosen for Art Olympia – アートオリンピア 2015, an exclusive international art competition. Artworks from approximately 240 artists were selected from three major cities – Tokyo, New York and Paris. All of us who were chosen to participate will undergo the final review in Tokyo by a panel of judges invited from around the world. The exhibition is tentatively scheduled for June 13 – 28, 2015 at the Toshima City Government Office Building in Ikebukuro, Tokyo.

There are two rounds to this contest. The first round is regional, conducted in New York, Paris and Tokyo. 80 pieces (60 open category/20 students) from each regional market base were selected to proceed to the final round in Tokyo. Art Olympia aims to promote global cultural exchanges through art. is an open art competition held as a biennial event with the goal of discovering talented artists around the world and supporting their activities. The judging will be conducted by domestic and foreign art experts as jurors. My art piece was selected for this amazing competition, Skate Park Krusty, from my Obsessions & Meditations series. This piece was made with acrylic, craypas, paint pen, and archival glitter on canvas – 24” x 24” unframed.

With three entry bases in Tokyo, New York, and Paris, Art Olympia is a public art contest open to artists from all over the world with the goal of discovering talent. Established as a biennale, the contest will be held every two years. Prizes will be distributed to the winners to help them advance their path and their creative scope. Using a fair and transparent judging process to determine the winners, Art Olympia aims to achieve an international and multidimensional approach in judging. A universal point system is used and applicants will know their standing, points and ranking.

Having been selected for this prestigious international art competition has officially propelled me into the global art circuit. I’m so proud to participate in this incredible contest and exhibition in Tokyo, it validates for me that my work has mass appeal and crosses cultural borders. I’m really happy that people are able to connect with a part of me through my artwork, and as a globally recognized artist, I now have the opportunity to touch art aficionados all over the world.

It is an honor to have been selected by Saatchi Art for their new collection. My art piece Downtown Traffic Lights Plague the Milford Building from my Obsessions & Meditations series was chosen to be included in Saatchi Art’s ‘In Celebration of Basquiat and Street Art’ – Curated by Jessica McQueen, the Assistant Curator at Saatchi Art.

Write-up via Miami’s No. 1 Art Blog, Miami Art Scene: “New England & New York-based mixed media artist Vito Bonanno‘s Downtown Traffic Lights Plague the Milford Building was selected by Saatchi Art for inclusion in their new collection: ‘In Celebration of Basquiat and Street Art’. Curated by Jessica McQueen, the Assistant Curator at Saatchi Art –> Bonanno’s mix of hyper-focused Autism inspired work blends street art, pop culture and dreams from his unfiltered world. A nationally recognized artist who taps into the daily emotional and social challenges of living with autism, placing his innermost feelings onto canvas.”

Saatchi Art created this new collection in honor of the Basquiat exhibition now on view at the Brooklyn Museum, inspired by street art and the works of Jean-Michel Basquiat. Saatchi Art is the world’s leading online art gallery, connecting people with art and artists they love. Saatchi Art offers an unparalleled selection of paintings, drawings, sculpture and photography in a range of prices, and it provides artists from around the world with an expertly curated environment in which to exhibit and sell their work. Based in Los Angeles, Saatchi Art is redefining the experience of buying and selling art by making it easy, convenient and welcoming for both collectors and artists.

What a spectacular event in the Miami Downtown Arts District at McCormick Place, Autism Awareness Art Night was held on March 6, 2015 from 6-10pm in the heart of Downtown Miami. The event was hosted in collaboration with the University of Miami Center for Autism and Related Disabilities – (UM-NSU CARD), which is an organization that provides support and assistance with the goal of optimizing the potential of people with autism and related disabilities.

It was an awesome night of art, entertainment and festivities. Thank you to McCormick Place for such a successful event, also a very big thank you to Miami Art Scene™ for the strong media coverage and support! I attached some snippets from social media posts about the event –> “A recap of our March ‪#‎autismawareness‬ art night event here at‪#‎McCormickPlaceMiami‬!! Thank you to all participants! Maridith Imbasala @photographybypaloma Mariana Bara @madchillerworld @azucaricecream @ronbarcelo_rd, the UM Center for Autism and Related Disabilities and of course, @vitobonannoart!!” via McCormick Place on Instagram @mccormickplacemiami

‘What is AUTISM YOU + I? Autism You + I represents the image we at CARD have embraced as an organization since our inception in 1993.  Our mission is all about “You + I” and what we as families, friends and community partners can accomplish together to make our community a better, more inclusive place for people affected by autism and related disabilities. Together, You + I are making a difference every day in the lives of so many.’

We had two awesome art parties over the Summer at Umbrella Arts Gallery in New York City on June 11 & June 27, 2014. Both events included my Artmobile, Truck’N With Vito! – my traveling art gallery. The Artmobile was parked out front for passerby’s and visitors to enjoy. The gallery was open to all guests and visitors to view the Truck’N With Vito! Series of 50 intimate pieces on display through the month of July.

Umbrella Arts NYC

I’m thankful for these types of social art gatherings, they allow me to establish new relationships. During one of these Summer art parties at Umbrella Arts Gallery, I met art patrons who expressed to me that my art inspired them to start an art collection. It makes me feel good to know that my work inspires people. Fans really loved my jewelry art pendants, someone called it Wearable Art, I really like that description.

The hats and T-shirts were also popular, it’s nice to see so much support for my cultural awareness campaign Truck’N With Vito!.We had a nice turnout both times and the visitors had great energy. The enthusiasm and vibe of good will and support was strong. It was great to spend time with good friends while meeting new fans and collectors in the heart of Manhattan’s Lower East Side Arts District at Umbrella Arts.

Umbrella Arts NYC

Both Art Parties were free to the public with no admission. We offered complimentary wine and both events featured Music by DJ CherishTheLove and Poetry by Galinsky. After the success of our first Art Party on June 11th, we knew we had to have another one, so it happened on June 27th, 2014 – which once again was an excellent night filled with guests showing their support for the Arts & Autism, friends gathered and art-goers came and went.

Thanks to Ty & Lisa from Brooklyn College who filmed and interviewed at the opening of my Art Party at Umbrella Arts Gallery on June 11th in the East Village. What an incredible event, thank you to everyone who came out, such an amazing time – I love the love!