'Crowd Source,' Featuring Recent Paintings by John Bonner

McGowan Fine Art announces the opening of “Crowd Source” featuring recent paintings by John Bonner. The show will run from February 27 – March 27, with an artist’s reception on February 27 from 5 to 7 PM with a snow date of March 6. This show is free and open to the public

Bonner paints what is immediately around him – prosaic spaces as seen by an artist. In this most recent work he takes us to gathering places of a contemporary society: commuter platforms, grocery stores, city streets and restaurants. “I want to bring the weight and tradition of painting into new, for me, places. I like the idea of painting something that visually, no-one gives a second glance to” says the artist.

Yet the artist brings a complexity of surface to these ordinary scenes. Bonner’s paintings “Buying Food” and “American Supermarket” immerse the viewer in the thick of the busy after work rush at Market Basket. His lavishly painted surfaces are a cacophony of colors and patterns to convey the hubbub: red aprons, blue food displays, waving banners and a myriad of skin colors. It is familiar enough to be over looked yet transfixing when seen anew through the eyes of an artist.

In another set of paintings Mr. Bonner treats the surface with his signature broad strokes of thick paint. He evokes a quieter mood in “Morning Coffee Scramble”. The viewer looks into a coffee shop from the street where bright overhead lights create halos of color lighting the mute patrons below, partaking of their morning cup of joe. The panes of the window in the foreground echo the Renaissance format of a multi paneled triptych. The coffee shop patrons echo the 15th century subjects, finding a bit of peace before going forth in the world. Bonner’s paintings look both forwards and backwards in style and substance.

This exhibit will be on display at McGowan Fine Art, 10 Hills Avenue, Concord, NH. Hours are Tuesday to Friday, 10 to 6 PM; Saturday 10-2 or by appointment. Please contact Marissa Rattee at 603-225-2515 for more information or visit our website at mcgowanfineart.com.

Hours: Tuesday-Friday 10-6, Sat 10-2 and by appointment.