The eyes are the mirrors of the soul.
If the online examples of Gabriel Bonfili’s artwork convey an overarching message, that proverb (a Latin borrowing first recorded in English in 1545) figuratively encapsulates it. Most if not all of those examples focus on portraiture because of the soulful challenge that focus poses, confesses Bonfili.
“The human face is something we see so often, and capturing it in new and different ways can be quite fun and difficult,” he reflects. “The way a face can communicate emotion is very powerful to me, and there are a million stories in the eyes alone.”
His own story began roughly a third of a continent away. “I was born in Phoenix,” Bonfili states, and that statement seems suggestive in matters less of content than of form. Many of his works, that is, embrace pastels and the sun-bleached look of the Southwest – a desaturated palette of straw and rose, saffron and olive, terra cotta and periwinkle.
“I came into colors and color theory later in life, and I’m still experimenting and learning,” Bonfili says. “So in a way, I try to surprise myself.
“I’ll start with one to two colors, and that will determine what direction I’ll go. The colors can shape-shift and transition, and if I succeed, I will have harmony, and the piece will make sense.”
Now in his early 30s, the resident of the Tower Grove South neighborhood graduated from the graphic-design program at South County Technical School and now paints in the front room of his apartment, “converted into a studio, which has a nice southwest-facing window with natural light.”
Regarding his inspirations, Bonfili notes a familial influence on his artistic career, among others.
“My grandfather mastered engraving and even did some work for Anheuser-Busch and [the City of] St. Louis,” he says. “And my parents fueled my obsession with creativity.
“I’ve always been inspired by nature, patterns and geometry. Formal art education could never really keep my attention for too long, with the exception of graphic design, where I grew to love the endless possibilities of layering. Other than that, trial-and-error has probably been my greatest teacher.”
That said, Bonfili expands on his painterly inspirations, citing “some of the classics like [Salvador] Dalí, [Hieronymus] Bosch and [Pablo] Picasso for their raw creativity and otherworldly ideas, Jackson Pollock for his organized chaos, Andy Warhol for his boldness.”
In particular, he also cites “the rebellious ones,” like the unidentified English graffiti nonesuch Banksy and American “street artist” Shepard Fairey, who created the puissant 2008 Barack Obama Hope poster, as well as “many other lesser-known street artists [who] use unconventional canvasses like walls and buildings.”
Bonfili “last but not least” cites kids as an inspiration. “They are completely fearless and don’t overthink anything,” he says. “For them, it’s all about experimentation and the experience itself.”
Bonfili then briefly discusses his preferred media as a painter.
“When I use oils on canvas, it is usually for a more traditional style and softer blending techniques,” he relates, “and when I want more of a layered or experimental effect, I usually favor acrylics on [art] board.
“Because the board is so flat, I can add almost as many smooth layers as I want. Acrylics lend themselves very well to that process because thin layers can dry in a matter of minutes or seconds, and it’s satisfying to work fast with them to get your ideas out.”
Bonfili continues by reflecting on the tools with which he customarily approaches either a canvas or a board.
“I love the palette knife,” he says. “Not only is it very hard to master because of its inconsistent behavior, but it can also produce very wild, natural and bold effects or layers as thin as a hair.
“Then, the brush is always useful for the really small details. The way [both tools] release the paint in the stroke is an endless fascination, and sometimes they can play nicely together in the same piece.”
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Bonfili’s creative methodology also varies from work to work.
“My approach depends on how playful or serious the tone of the subject is and just what mood I’m in,” he says. “If I’m just trying to learn technique and color, I’ll focus on a traditional style. For playful subjects like children or even animals, I would want a more raw and messy approach with a chaotic background. It’s fun to play with repetitive aspects of faces and shapes, patterns and geometry, like cutting and pasting, in a sense.”
The online examples of his work include portraits of cultural icons like ’60s nonpareil rock guitarist Jimi Hendrix and the “Godfather of Soul,” James Brown, whose inclusion in his oeuvre Bonfili explains succinctly.
“I am a musician as well [as a painter], and without music, I would lack a wealth of inspiration,” he says. “Both art forms share spontaneity. The painting process can be similar to playing or listening to a song, in the sense that it’s more about the journey than the end product.
“When I paint my favorite musicians, I get to [transpose] their musical energy into the visual realm.”
Another of his recent works involves not only portraiture of a sort, but also a sociopolitical message rather slyly delivered.
“After the unrest in 2014, I had the opportunity to paint the boards that covered broken shop windows near my neighborhood on Grand Boulevard,” Bonfili says.
“[The painting in question] was a composition of two babies, one black and one white, playing with blocks that spelled out ‘Unity.’ That piece found a new home in the Regional Arts Commission.”
Among other recent works, he also proudly mentions “a piece for an auction that benefited a dear friend with cancer” and a commissioned portrait of the chairman and chief executive officer of a local architectural firm, which he characterizes as “challenging, knowing that it will be judged by very discerning eyes.”
For the foreseeable future, Bonfili lists a number of goals as eclectic as his extant work as a painter: “Growing. Not sitting still. Getting my work into public places. And making some kind of positive change.”
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