As we bid farewell to the renowned Belgrade-born, Vancouver-based artist Bratsa Bonifacho, Bau-Xi Gallery’s Director, Riko Nakasone, reflects on his incredible legacy. Bonifacho, who passed away on December 12, 2024, at the age of 87, leaves behind a profound body of work that challenged viewers to grapple with themes of war, technology, and communication. With over six decades of artistic innovation, his bold and layered abstract paintings continue to inspire. Join us as Riko shares insights into the life, art, and enduring impact of one of the most significant artists of our time. —Noa Nichol
Bratsa Bonifacho was a central figure at Bau-Xi Gallery for almost 30 years. How would you describe his impact on the gallery and Vancouver’s art community as a whole?
Bonifacho was a classically trained painter emerging in the 1960s, an era that embraced postmodernist aesthetics – as such, he had a connection to tradition yet was unafraid of bold statements, activism and change.
His work was as vivid and bold as his personality and evolved over the decades to encompass diverse themes and subject matter – both personal and universal.
Bonifacho’s work often explored themes of war, communication, and technology. How did his personal history and experiences shape these deeply layered abstract paintings?
Bonifacho’s earliest experiences include the horrors and trauma of war as a young boy growing up in Belgrade, former Yugoslavia in the late 1930s into the 1940s; he witnessed grenades exploding near his friends and saw his country ravaged by the encroaching Nazi forces as they made their way across Europe. It is no accident that red was a strongly featured colour in many of his works, and allusions to the shape of detonating bombs and shards of metal shrapnel can be also be found in his works throughout the years. Additionally, his longtime fascination with language and communication was spurred by coming to Canada in 1973 knowing only three English words.
The “Eyes Over Belgrade” project brought Bonifacho early international recognition. What do you think this bold initiative says about his artistic vision and his ability to connect art with community?
Bonifacho was always able to “think big”, and wished to wake people up and affect change through his art.
The “Eyes over Belgrade” is a series of large rooftop paintings featuring stylized eyes and bright abstracted forms that began in1959 and moved the tradition of painting from the confines of the studio and gallery/museum setting out into the public sphere.
His live action painting along with subsequent choreographed performances – involving enlisted members of the community – were at the forefront of what now has become known as performance art.
Bonifacho continued to move forward with his bold thematic and distinct series over the following decades: his Combustion Series was about pollution, and the Blackboard Series was about the US-Russia “space race”. For a different kind of statement, in 2008 he was selected to design 800 street banners for the City of Vancouver’s 50th annual street banners display, following in the footsteps of artists such as Jack Shadbolt, Toni Onley, Gordon Smith and Bill Reid whose work had appeared on the banners in past years. Making a big statement was part of Bonifacho’s DNA.
From his intricate use of letters and symbols to bright, optimistic colors, Bonifacho’s work balanced chaos and beauty. How did these contrasts define his legacy as an artist?
Bonifacho was unafraid to paint difficult subjects – in fact, he seemed to passionately take them on as challenges. He was adept at ordering and managing seemingly uncontrollable and boundless subjects, feelings and trauma within his work, particularly with his responses to the war machine and injustice. To make works of beauty that did not hide or sugar-coat their subjects was one of his great gifts.
With over 60 solo exhibitions worldwide, Bonifacho’s career was both prolific and widely celebrated. Are there any standout exhibitions or milestones that come to mind when reflecting on his legacy?
A notable exhibition was his retrospective solo exhibition in 2015 at Bau-Xi Gallery, marking 42 years in Canada – works were pulled from about 20 series for the exhibition. Another was the Garage Series exhibition, which featured extremely large and impactful works that barely fit in his large garage studio. Very memorably, he had a retrospective exhibition in his native Belgrade in 2000, for which he had to sneak the works into the country during the no-fly sanction of the civil war. Major museum exhibitions were also held at museums in Serbia.
Bonifacho’s work resonates with themes still relevant today—digital conflict, communication breakdowns, and global crises. How do you think his art will continue to inspire and challenge future generations?
With the growing presence and ability of AI, Bonifacho’s art stands to reflect on an entirely new facet of contemporary life in the future. The paintings are a prescient warning of what is unfolding now and how humanity evolves and devolves with rapid technological advances.
As someone who worked closely with Bonifacho, what are your most cherished memories of him as an artist, collaborator, and individual?
Bonifacho had an imposing stature and was a huge presence and personality – he brought an elegant, warm and a little-bit-mischievous charm wherever he went.
He was generous in his mentorship to younger artists, providing both technical and philosophical advice. Painting was his life – and it consumed his waking hours.
When Bratsa flew out to attend his solo exhibition featuring new paintings this past November 2024 at Bau-Xi Gallery, Toronto and at the age of 87, he was still eager to return to his easel to create and finish new works, until his fading health finally prevented him from doing so.
When I sometimes inquired about the meaning behind a particular title or painting, he would say “ Look – the message is in the painting – it’s all there in front of you”
Bratsa Bonifacho’s paintings can be viewed at Bau-Xi Galleries in Vancouver and Toronto and Foster/White Gallery in Seattle.
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