"Drawing is about hope and chaos.
Life is about survival and communication.
Often optimistic, sometimes uneasy, even grey skies have moving reds, yellows and blues to notice - when you stop wrestling with them and observe the flow."
Bonnie Gibbons works on paper to unpick the layers of nature's growth. In a van-shaped studio, she uses soft pastels with conspicuous mark-making. Her work considers the elemental force of both the landscape and human emotion. She embraces incongruity and conflicting internal states of mind, to open a dialogue between hope and chaos.
Bonnie first learned to look in The Midlands and the Cornish Peninsula, whatever the weather. She believes in the importance of changing surroundings and resists the illusion of permanence. Bonnie was originally trained as a knitwear designer, with tactile surfaces and emotive colour still integral to her handwriting today.
Bonnie Gibbons has exhibited in London, Oxfordshire, Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, and Wales. Her debut solo show was at Boston Manor House in 2025. Her work is in a number of private collections in the UK, Netherlands, US and Australia. As a designer, she has created textiles that have been sold in the US and Europe, and have been exhibited at international trade shows.
Born in Staffordshire, UK in 1993. Lives and works in Oxfordshire & London, UK.
Education*
- BA (Hons) Fashion Design | Kingston School of Art (2015)
- Fashion Drawing Short Course, Helen Bullock & John Booth | Central Saint Martins (2014)
- Art and Design Foundation | Oxford Brookes University (2012)
SOLO exhibitions
- Beyond the window, curated by Lydia Allain Chapman, Boston Manor House, London, England (2024-25)
- Drawing is about hope, Parliament Hill Lido, Hampstead, London, England (2024)
Group exhibitions
- The Turner House Open, Turner House, Penarth, Wales (2023)
- Summer Exhibition, Picture, Hammersmith, London, England (2023)
- Spring Salon, Candid Gallery, Islington, London, England (2023)
- Summer Exhibition, Townhouse Spitalfields, London, England (2021)
- This is Ealing, Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery, Ealing, London, England (2021)
- Yet to Arrive, Cre8 Gallery, Hackney, London, England (2013)
- Art Foundation Show, Oxford Brookes School of Art, Oxford, England (2012)
- Spring Exhibition, Cockharbour Gallery, Evesham, Cotswolds, England (2011)
RESIDENCIES
- Dubhagen Residency: Summer Pools, Perthshire, Scotland (2025)
- Artist in Residence: Nature in Art, Wallsworth Hall, Gloucester, England (2024)
- Ealing Living Magazine, A Canvas of Local Exhibitions: Boston Manor, written by Louisa Maidwell (2024)
- Studio Nar, Layers from life: Bonnie Gibbons, directed by Asli Umut & Tsveta Lozanov (2024)
- Ealing Living Magazine, In Good Company: Bonnie Gibbons, written by Louisa Maidwell (2023)
- Circus Gallery, Oliver Smart: In Conversation with a Dragonfly, co-produced by Bonnie Gibbons (2019)
- Circus Gallery, Circus is 21: A Celebration of Collaboration, co-produced by Bonnie Gibbons (2019)
ART IS FOR EVERYONE
*A note on education
I was very lucky to go to a state school that prioritised its art department, and then to be able to afford a further formal education that allowed me to meet inspiring designers, teachers, craftspeople and artists.
This is not the only route. Art is for everyone, regardless of background or anything else. If you are dedicated to making art, you can be an artist.
Arts Emergency are dedicated to levelling the playing field for young people's access to arts and humanities. You can read more, donate or mentor at arts-emergency.org.
The 93% Club is a community for state-educated professionals at all stages of their career, built on the principle that all people should have access to networks of support, knowledge and influence. You can find out more at 93percent.club.
Dyslexia and dyspraxia disproportionally impact artists. To access information and support visit bdadyslexia.org.uk, dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk and irlen.com.