"Though we're offended by intolerance and discrimination in any form and abhor injustice that debases human dignity while embracing peace, our words and actions do not always correspond in our daily lives. Art seems to have lost its critical voice and is increasingly subject to a set of values determined by the rules of the market.
If I were forced to stop dreaming and ponder reality with lucid rationality and objectivity, the image of Man I've been depicting who is injured and under attack would have to be replaced by a surface covered solely with deep, silent wounds.By representing the human figure naked and exposed, I declare its supremacy; by not including the subject's face, I highlight his or her body language. I give them an awareness with theatrical poses, and the subjects are acted on, so the real protagonist is left free to participate in the staging. Since the face is an identifier an the intensity of an expression or the set of a mouth can hint at a condition or emotional state, when the face is hidden, the subject's condition or emotional state is inferred from the pose of the body, whether completely visible or incomplete. The pose of the body leaves the observer free to imagine the contours and face."
Son of painter Angelo Bonfanti, Maurizio Bonfanti attended Bergamo's Liceo Artistico and studied etching at the Accademia di Belle Arti in the same city. Though he enrolled to study modern literature at Milan's Universita Statale, in 1973 he left that course of study to dedicate himself to the arts.
From 1976 to 1983, Bonfanti taught drawing and visual communications at a technical school in Bergamo. He spent the decade of the 1970's working exclusively on etching, but then moved on to painting. He has produced a number of series dealing in particular with religious themes, and experimenting with various techniques to render the human form, landscapes, and cityscapes.
His paintings have been exhibited in personal and collective exhibitions throughout Italy and in Montecarlo, France, Spain, and the USA since 1978. Bonfanti has also participated in two prestigious exhibitions at the Contemporary Art Centre Schalkwijk in Utrecht and held major exhibitions in Lineart, Gend, Belgium, and Holland. Most recently, he was also commissioned to create pieces for the Shoah Memorial to remember the victims of the Second World War.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2000-2018
- Stable exhibition at Liquid art system
- Stable exhibition at De Twee Pawen Galerie
2016
- Limen, curated by Fernando Noris, Palazzo storico del credito Bergamasco, Bergamo
2012
- Ezechiele37, Museo Bernareggi, Bergamo
2011
- Terra d'ombra Palazzo Municipale, Seriate, Bergamo
- De Twee Pauwen Galerie, Den Haag, Holland
2010
- Mar&Patners Gallery, Torino
2009
- Una città senza, Sala Manzù, Bergamo
2008
- Gormleys Fine Art, Belfast, Northern Ireland
- Università Cattolica Sacro Cuore, Milano
2007
- PASSIO: Spazio Arte Pisanello, Verona
2006
- Arbor Vitae: Museo della Basilica, Clusone, Bergamo
- PUBLIC COLLECTIONS - Museo Michetti, Francavilla Mare, Chieti
- Seminario Vescovile di Bergamo - Cappella Cropelli, Brescia
- National Museum of Fine Arts Taiwan
- CINQUE PORTE IN MEMORIA DELLA SHOAH, Auditorium della Provincia, Bergamo
- Chiesa Parrocchiale di Lallio, Bergamo
- Sala Civica, Castione della Presolana, Bergamo
- IL POLITTICO DI MARNE: Chiesa di SFermo, Grignano, Bergamo
- Museo Arte e Spiritualità, Brescia
- CINQUE GRANDI TELE INTORNO ALL'UOMO: Chiesa di Redona, Bergamo
- Yung Museum, Palazzo Ducale di Revere, Mantova.
COLLECTIVE EXHIBITIONS
2018
- Besharat Art gallery, with Ugo Riva and Dario Tironi, Barbizon, France
2012
- artexpo New York, Franco Senesi Fine Art, New York - Art Fair
- Realisme , De Twee Pauwen Galerie, Amsterdam
- Triennale d'arte sacra, Lecce
2011
- De Natura, Sala Manzù, Bergamo
- Artisti della realtà , Palazzo Furietti, Presezzo, Bergamo
- Art Fair, Realisme 2011, De Twee Pauwen Galerie, Amsterdam
2010
- Après de mon arbre, Galerie Brülée, Strasbourg
- St'Art 2010, Galerie Brülée, Strasbourg
- Arte Fiera Reggio Emilia, Franco Senesi Fine Art, Reggio Emilia
- Tradizione, Palazzo Furietti, Presezzo, Bg
- Protagonisti del Contemporaneo, Sala Michetti, Pescara
- Spring Exhibition, De Twee Pauwen GalerieDen Haag
- L'altra memoria, Galleria Minelli, Venezia e Sala Manzù, Bergamo
- L'arte nel Verde San Giorgio in Salici, Verona
2009
- Art Fair, Realisme 09, De Twee Pauwen Galerie, Amsterdam
- Miami Art Fairs: Bridge Miami Wynwood, Franco Senesi Fine Art
2008
- Sacralità del Corpo, Castel Dell'Ovo, Napoli
2007
- Nella lunga notte, Galleria Il Triangolo, Bergamo
- Albemarle Gallery, Londra
- Calvin Charles Gallery, Scottsdale Arizona, USA
- Visions from Italy, Gallery 27 Cork Street, Londra
- Ma voi, chi dite che io sia? Università Cattolica, Milano.
2006
- Premio Michetti, Francavilla Mare, Chieti
- XII International Biennial, National Museum of Fine Arts, Taiwan
- Dissonanze, Chiostro di Santa Marta, Bergamo
- 45° anniversario Liceo Artistico Statale di Bergamo, Ex convento San Francesco, Bergamo
- Artisti del 1900 e Contemporanei, Palazzo Loffredo, Potenza
- Selection of works from Biennale del Disegno di Pilsen, Sala Manzù, Bergamo and Czech Centre in Brusselles, Belgium
- Quadrato per la ricerca, Accademia belle arti Tadini Lovere, Bergamo.