MEET

OLIVIA BONILLA

Olivia is a Colombian-American Pop Art sculptor known for her not so edible iconic confectionary representations. Driven by childhood memories, toy culture, and the lure of rich finishes, she aims to communicate sculptural vignettes of a familiar visual playground.

Over the years Olivia has explored a maximalist approach to sweet excess. Exploiting popular sweet treats as subjects to a sugar-coated reality. The confectionary theme is a vessel to tell a story about the indulgence of color, the nostalgia of a sweet pastime, and communicate a visceral experience via sculpture.

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TELL US SOMETHING ABOUT YOUR WORK THAT PEOPLE MAY NOT EXPECT?

In this body of work I use a variety of automotive paints and finishes. All of the hearts and the plans are actually made with a transparent automotive pigment over a silver base color. These paints are called Kandy paint (the watercolor of automotive paint)

Most all of my work is casted Hydrocal, a substrate of plaster. Hydrocal can be sanded to a smooth flawless finish. Layers of resin help with durability during the the next round of sanding and I continue to process all in preparation for paint.

My process for most of my automotive painted pieces are very similar to that of prepping a car.

What do you hope people will take away from your work?

An invitation for a closer look! Curiosity of how it’s made and a conversation of playful energy.

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