"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 with conspicuous mark-making, to unpick the layers of nature's growth. In a van-shaped studio, she works predominantly from life with soft pastels: looking from the floor straight up into the sky, whatever the weather. She embraces incongruity in the landscape and conflicting internal states of mind, enabling her to communicate with immediacy. Gibbons originally trained as a knitwear designer, and tactile surfaces and colour psychology remain integral to her handwriting.
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 Stafford, UK in 1993.
Lives and works in Oxfordshire & London, UK.
Education*
2015 BA (Hons) Fashion Design | Kingston School of Art
2014 Fashion Drawing Short Course | Central Saint Martins
2012 Art and Design Foundation | Oxford Brookes University
SOLO exhibitions
2024-25 Beyond the window, (curated by Lydia Allain Chapman), Boston Manor House, London, England.
2024 Drawing is about hope, Parliament Hill Lido, Hampstead, London, England
Group exhibitions
2023 The Turner House Open, Turner House, Penarth, Wales
2023 Summer Exhibition, Picture, Hammersmith, London, England
2023 Spring Salon, Candid Gallery, Islington, London, England
2021 Summer Exhibition, Townhouse Spitalfields, London, England
2021 This is Ealing, Pitzhanger Manor & Gallery, Ealing, London, England
2013 Yet to Arrive, Cre8 Gallery, Hackney, London, England
2012 Art & Design Foundation Show, Oxford Brookes School of Art, Oxford, England
2011 Spring Exhibition, Cockharbour Gallery, Evesham, Cotswolds, England
RESIDENCIES
2025 Dubhagen Residency: Summer Pools, Perthshire, Scotland
2024 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
2023 Ealing Living Magazine, In Good Company: Bonnie Gibbons, written by Louisa Maidwell
2019 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
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.
Dyslexia and dyspraxia disproportionally impact artists. To access information and support visit bdadyslexia.org.uk, dyspraxiafoundation.org.uk and irlen.com.