Bea Bonafini on Body, Ceramics, and Performance

Bea Bonafini (b. 1990, Bonn; lives between London and Rome) discusses her multidisciplinary practice spanning painting, drawing, ceramics, body silhouettes, and three-dimensional carpets rooted in bodily performativity. In an interview with Eleonora Angiolini, she describes her work as developing along a spiral path, cyclically revisiting themes. Her early performance 'In the likeness of…' involved dancers, musicians, and chefs, laying the foundation for current works like 'Rippling,' her largest tapestry, where tension between bodies ripples across fabric. Bonafini conceives her works as co-dependent 'bodies' emerging from personal emotions, incorporating fragments from diverse sources, including labyrinths, Taoism, and Kung Fu. She cites Enrico David as a reference for material versatility, Hilma af Klint for color and spiritual presence, and Francesco Clemente for erotic figuration. The theme of the double and hybridity is central, explored through performance and costumes. Her work was recently selected for The Artsy Vanguard, with a group show in Miami alongside 19 other emerging artists, following a previous presentation at Mana Contemporary curated by Edoardo Monti. Bonafini emphasizes the importance of this US visibility.