Pre-Existing Condition Exhibition at the Blue Lotus Artists’ Collective

Pre-Existing Condition Exhibition at the Blue Lotus Artists’ Collective February 1, 2023, 5:30 – 8:30PM 15 E. Pennington Street. The public is invited to view the gallery exhibit Pre-Existing Condition featuring the works of renowned local artist, Willie J. Bonner. This is a mostextraordinary and visionary fine art exhibition.

Willie Bonner’s works intend to engage the viewer and create an extended dialogue regarding the culture of African American people both historically and in contemporary society. However, in its essence, its objective is to transcend language. Just as jazz is indigenous to America, more specifically, Black America, with its roots in African rhythms and dances, so too are his paintings a reflection of indigenous African American culture and experience within the larger American culture. Bonner’s art is not about gaining social acceptance in the larger American society, but rather an allegory of what it means to be black in postmodern America.

The meaning is multi-layered and multi-cultural, seeking to engage the audience through the content of its social applicability as well as the complex “rhythmic” patterns that exist in the work itself. Within the iconography of his work, psychological dimensions emerge reflecting his personal experience of Black American culture, which requires a break with the ruling hegemony that has a hold on images of the black body and experience. Maintaining an identity within a framework of double consciousness is a bitter-sweet taste of reality – feeling as an “other” from mainstream America while evolving toward a new identity.
“A revolutionary visual aesthetic must emerge that re-appropriates, revises and reinvents. My painting has given me many new ways of seeing myself within the structure of our society. There are layers of unknown issues that are standing parallel with the known. These issues are part of the Black American experience that are lost precisely because they are not often seen or if seen, not understood. “ Willie Bonner

“This thought provoking exhibit by artist Willie Bonner extends the stories from the arts of the B.C. period of man to the current time. The work presents a colorful approach to navigating the challenge of man vs system, connecting our ancestors’ experience to present day man’s desires. This extended visual narrative is a window to our ancestors’ desires to survive.”

Blue Lotus Artists’ Collective (BLAC) is a non-profit gallery space dedicated to supporting and uplifting black artists. Located on the ground floor of the historic pioneer building in downtown Tucson, Arizona, our gallery is a place where the community can come together to celebrate, appreciate and see the art and talent of black artists.

For more information about the Blue Lotus Artists’ Collective as well as gallery hours, please visit our website or follow us on social media.