Bonnie Ferrill Roman
Handmade Paper Installation & Sculpture, and Digital Photographic Collage
News & Events
Code Blue: The Ocean
June 8 - August 12 at Niza Knoll Gallery, 915 Santa Fe Drive
Opening Reception is Friday, June 9th, 5-9 pm
Meet the Artists Gallery Talk: Friday, June 16t, 5-8 pm
Fecundity: Duet Stoneware & acrylic on wood panel
According to the Reef-World Foundation, "Coral reefs make up a fraction of the world's oceans – less than 1% – but they provide a home to around 25% of all the world’s marine life. Over 4,000 different species of fish rely on coral reefs, which provide food for a variety of fish which, in turn, provide food for humans. It’s estimated that around 500 million people in the world consume the fish found on coral reefs.
It’s been recorded that coral reefs began forming as far back as 240 million years ago! Established coral reefs today are between 5,000 - 10,000 years old, although some individual corals may only live a couple of years.
Corals and algae have a symbiotic relationship but if the ocean gets too warm, corals expel their algae which causes them to turn white - a process known as bleaching. In a desperate attempt to survive increasing ocean temperatures, some corals have been shown to emit vibrant colors, a phenomenon which has led to the global Glowing campaign."
The ceramic works I have created for this exhibition are based on the forms and colors of coral reefs, both before and after bleaching has occurred; The acrylic drawings and mixed-media pieces symbolically mark that transition. The goal of this work is to evoke the beauty of the coral reefs and also raise awareness about the catastrophic changes taking place in our warming oceans that are affecting these ancient structures, in hopes of sparking action to reverse climate change and save them.
CATALYST at Niza Knoll Gallery
September 24 - November 20, 2021
Collaborating Artists: Bonnie Ferrill Roman, Jennifer Ghormley, Judy Gardner, Kendra Fleischman, and Victoria Eubanks.
Update November 2021: Our immersive exhibition at the Niza Knoll Gallery has come down so your chance to experience it in person has passed, but you can still read about it in the DARIA Art Magazine review, or watch the video above for a last glimpse of my ‘zone’.
Click here to read the Catalyst Review in DARIA Magazine
Click here to read the article in the online ‘YourHub” at The Denver Post
Click here to see The Westword “Art Attack” article featuring Catalyst
The November 2021 cover of the Print version of DARIA Magazine, featuring an image of my ‘zone’ of Catalyst at Niza Knoll Gallery
Installation View of Pathogenic Logic
Pink Progression Collaborations
On January 21, 2017, history was made when over two million people joined women and sister marches in more than five hundred US cities and around the world. During the marches, the color pink created a strong visual statement representing unity and empowerment. Curated by Anna Kaye, Pink Progression has been an ongoing series of exhibitions of work by numerous local * & regional artists (including me) who incorporate this hue as it reflects manifestations of personal, social, and gender connections. During its first iteration, Pink Progression was comprised of three separate exhibitions at different venues in 2018: The Boulder Public Library, the Denver Public Library, and the Metro Center for Visual Art. Each exhibition was unique, featuring different artworks by participating artists at each venue. As part of these exhibitions, I and other artists also presented short talks at the Denver Art Museum and the Center for Visual Art.
In 2020, Pink Progression returned to The Arvada Center for the Arts & Humanities with Pink Progression - Collaborations; an exhibition consisting entirely of collaborative artworks from well over 100 artists. I teamed up with fellow artist Judy Gardner to create a collaborative installation called Pathogenic Logic, composed of a mix of cast handmade paper forms, fibers, and 3D-Printed PLA objects.
Click here to read Michael Paglia's review of the CVA iteration of Pink Progression in Westword
For more information, or to explore the list of participating artists and their websites, as well as updates about Pink Progression
visit the Pink Progression website.
Detail from within Coalesce an interactive installation on display at ATC | DEN during Summer 2018
We Make Our Own Wings
My recent interactive installation; "Coalesce," was part of the three-person exhibition "We Make Our Own Wings", curated by gallery owner Laura Krudener around the theme of transcendence. Up-and-coming fiber painter Emma Balder and nationally-respected sculptor Yoshitomo Saito were the other two artists showing in the exhibition.
Viewers were invited to sit inside the center of the installation, to enjoy the experience of being surrounded by the piece. The chair could spin to allow viewers to rotate themselves within it. The view above is what a participant would see looking up from their seat within the work.
ATC | DEN Gallery and event space
3420 Larimer Street (in the RiNo Arts District)
Click here for Susan Froyd's Happenings post in Westword, including We Make Our Own Wings