I'M DUSTIN BONIVERT

My paintings are the confluence of my dreams from two different times in my life; my pop-culture-fueled childhood fantasies of action, toys, and GI-Joe-Heroes, flushed into the malaria fever dreams of a combat veteran. 

I fought in the Afghanistan war in 2009. One of the many changes I experienced after this event was my perspective of popular culture media. Our society is filled with stories of heroes and good-guy violent action made into popular movies, cartoons, and toys. What kind of influence does this have on society? I don’t think there is a simple answer, but I ask the question and use it as a theme in my paintings. 

My robotic lions are based on childhood toys about heroes and war that inspired me as a child. Robotic lions also represent the often expressed feeling of combat veterans who feel like they have become robots, missing human emotions and trapped behind a mask. Inspired by the landscapes of Afghanistan, I share my peaceful hopes and dreams for veterans, Afghans, and small monkeys alike. In these surrealist dreams, machines of war are no longer needed but have been left behind, too bulky and too damaged to go home. They look to find another purpose when they can only have one. 

I was born in 1980 and have never been too far from a pencil and paper. I use traditional oil painting methods taught to me by Aleksander Balos, whose teaching lineage can be traced back to Jaques-Louis David and 18th-century France.  I currently enjoy working from my home studio in northern California.  

Exhibitions 

August 2022 - Blockbusters - The Art Hunger, Redding, CA 

July 2022 - Everything But the Kitchen Sink - La Luz De Jesus Gallery, Los Angeles, CA 

July 2022 - ‘90s Art Party - The Art Hunger, Redding, CA 

June 2022 - Donuts and Brews - The Art Hunger, Redding, CA 

May 2022 - Face to Face - Arc Gallery, San Francisco, CA 

March 2022 - Superfine Art Fair - Fort Mason, San Francisco, CA

August 2021 - ‘90s Art Party - The Art Hunger, Redding, CA 

July 2021 - The Video Game Art Show - The Art Hunger, Redding, CA 

July 2021 - The Summer Show - Art Roster Atelier, Mount Shasta, CA 

April 2021 - Plantastic!  - Plant Daddy, Redding, CA 

February 2020 - Hello Redding!  - City Hall, Redding, CA 

October 2019 - Mount Shasta Comic Con - Mount Shasta, CA 

August 2018 - Quintessence - Liberty Arts, Yreka, CA 

April 2018 - The 6th Annual Forgery Show - Snowcreek Studios, Mount Shasta, CA 

October 2017 - The Forgery Show - Morris Adjmi Architects, New York, NY 

April 2017 - The 5th Annual  Forgery Show - Snowcreek Studios, Mount Shasta, CA 

October 2016 - The Forgery Show - Pence Gallery, Davis, CA 

September 2016 - Full Steam Ahead - Liberty Arts, Yreka, CA 

April 2016 - The 4th Annual Forgery Show - Snowcreek Studios, Mount Shasta, CA 

Press 

Juxtapoz, 2022: La Luz de Jesus Gives Us "Everything But The Kitchen Sink" https://www.juxtapoz.com/news/installation/la-luz-de-jesus-gives-us-everything-but-the-kitchen-sink/ 

The Art Hunger, 2020: Creatives You Should Know: Dustin Bonivert https://www.thearthunger.com/post/dustin-bonivert 

The National, 2017: In the Presence of Greatness? http://www.amtrakthenational.com/an-improbable-trove-of-forged-masterpieces 

BLOUIN ARTINFO International, 2017: ‘The Forgery Show’ At Morris Adjmi Architects, New York http://www.blouinartinfo.com/news/story/2507002/the-forgery-show-at-morris-adjmi-architects-new-york 

ARCHPAPER, 2017: On view: The Forgery Show at Morris Adjmi Architects https://archpaper.com/2017/12/forgery-show-morris-adjmi-architects/