Description:

Melissa Bonin (American/Louisiana, b. 1960) , "Grace Arrives, Translucent", 2023, oil on gallery-wrapped canvas, signed lower right, signed, titled, dated and inscribed en verso, 44 in. x 60 in., unframed.

    Notes:
  • “When I go out on the water, something happens to me. I feel an electricity, an energy.” - Melissa Bonin New Iberia native Melissa Bonin started painting at the University of Louisiana in Lafayette at the age of fifteen at the insistence of local artist Elemore Morgan, Jr. who became her mentor and whose expressive landscapes inspired her in her subject matter and approach. At ULL, she also had the opportunity to study under Tom Secrest, Herman Mhire and William Moreland, all of whom she lists as influences for her body of work. After earning her Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1981, she travelled abroad to study art and French in Paris, Angers and the south of France. She furthered her studies upon her return to the United States at Bennington College and the Massachusetts School of Fine Art in Boston. Bonin has achieved much recognition and many accolades for her work, receiving important commissions, such as a forty-eight-foot mural for the city of New Iberia, the Bunk Johnson award for Visual Arts, and an Atchafalaya Basin Foundation Grant. Her works are in many important private and public collections and have graced the walls of institutions such as the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, Knoxville Museum of Art, and the Bayou Teche Museum, among others. Throughout her celebrated career, she has and continues to experiment with a multitude of media and is even a talented poet. Her paintings have evolved from her earlier abstract canvases featuring an experimental grid-like layout of colorful pastel squares to her more recent moody bayou landscapes. A constant innovator who draws on her Cajun heritage as inspiration, Bonin has become an ambassador for Cajun culture and the state of Louisiana. With her adept brushstrokes, she is able to capture the timeless, luminous spirit of the bayou and its enduring beauty, symbolic of the resilience of the once violently displaced Cajun people. Her approach to creation is meditative, working in solitary silence and applying color to canvas instinctually and subconsciously. “Landscapes permit me to sit on the edge of abstraction and reality. You can manipulate colors in a way that produces a feeling of the landscape without copying everything realistically.” Her landscapes capture every facet of the Louisiana Wetlands from the dramatically hazy, glowing bayou scenes for which she is primarily known, to her more recent bright, sun-drenched explorations of duck weed suspended in a brilliantly reflective body of water. Ref.: Kemp, John R. Expressions of Place: The Contemporary Louisiana Landscape. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2016; Kemp, John R. “Melissa Bonin.” 64 Parishes. Sept. 12, 2012. www.64parishes.org. Accessed Mar. 6, 2023.
  • Condition:
  • If Condition is NOT stated in the description of the lot, the absence of a condition report does not indicate the lot is free of damage or condition issues. Available Condition Reports will appear as an additional image. Condition Reports and photographs may be requested on items until the Monday prior to the auction. Bid accordingly. All sales are final, no returns are accepted on the basis of condition.

Accepted Forms of Payment:

American Express, Discover, MasterCard, Money Order / Cashiers Check, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

Neal Auction Company, Inc. does not ship or pack any items sold or offered at auction, no exceptions. We will assist buyers in making shipping arrangements by furnishing information on packers and shippers. Handling of purchased lots by us is at the risk of the purchaser. Final arrangements and agreements are strictly between the buyer and the shipper. Neal Auction is not responsible for the buyer's choice of a shipper or to any occurrences during shipping.
All purchases must be paid in full prior to their release. If you choose to pick-up your items yourself or do not use an ICC/DOT certified carrier to ship out of state who provides a Bill of Lading; you will be subject to local and state sales taxes. Neal Auction will not sign shipping bill of lading forms.

Visit https://www.nealauction.com/buying-selling/how-to-ship/ for a list of shippers.

** ALL ITEMS ARE PURCHASED 'AS IS' AND 'WHERE IS' WITHOUT WARRANTY. ALL ITEMS MUST BE PAID IN FULL AND CHECKS CLEARED BEFORE RELEASE. **

If you contact any of the shipping companies on our website, they can facilitate packing and shipment of your purchases. Following making your shipping arrangements, email your release authorization to [email protected]

Our website www.nealauction.com also has an online shipping authorization form that can be submitted electronically. We must receive your authorization prior to releasing your purchases.

Please be aware that any shipper authorized by you to pick up your items may receive a copy of your invoice for their records. If you prefer that your shipper not receive a copy of your invoice, you must notify Client Services at [email protected] or 504-899-5329

March 30, 2023 1:00 PM CDT
New Orleans, LA, US

Neal Auction Company

You agree to pay a buyer's premium of up to 28% and any applicable taxes and shipping.

View full terms and conditions

Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $2,999 $100
$3,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $29,999 $1,000
$30,000 $49,999 $5,000
$50,000 $99,999 $10,000
$100,000 + $20,000