Occasionally a series of paintings comes across your feed or your email or however you gather your art appreciation, that just blows you away. We had that moment seeing the previews and eventually full body of work that is Louise Bonnet's newest show, New Works, now on view at Nino Mier Gallery in Los Angeles.
"The ever-expanding legions that inhabit the world of Louise Bonnet’s paintings embody an intriguing and bizarre duality; they tell us very little while manifesting a whole shit ton." So writes Arty Nelson, in an excerpt from Exquisite Agonies: The Art of Louise Bonnet, and it most definitely rings true. The works are fleshy and thick, not just in figurative expression but in detail and narrative. The Swiss-born, Los Angeles based painter elongates body parts, contorts body images, covers faces and makes you wonder just what exactly each of these characters are hiding. Playful isn't quite the term, but each painting almost portrays a folkloric character. Then again, as Bonnet notes, “I mean… Boobs are weird. Testicles are weird. And yet they define us. What I really like is when our bodies betray us.” These are exaggerated selves, imperfections and all.
New Works will be on view through May 5, 2018.
