Lucas Bononi “Rooted in Light”

Art-centre Exposed presents the first solo exhibition of the American artist Lucas Bononi in Russia, “Rooted in Light”.

Of Italian and Argentine descent, Bononi was born in Los Angeles, USA, in 1991. He studied at the Grand Central Atelier in New York from 2017 to 2021, previously studied at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, California, from 2012 to 2016, and before that at the Lorenzo de’ Medici Institute in Florence, Italy, from 2011 to 2012.

Through his art, Bononi explores the deep connections between the human form and the natural world. Inspired by naturalism and expressionism, and using unconventional painting tools, he conveys the essence of nature, delicately creating a fabric of its unique beauty with subtle shades of colour and light. His work reveals a dance of beauty and chaos, figurativeness and abstraction, creating a dialogue between humanity and nature.

Bononi is fluent in English, Italian and Spanish, as well as spoken Russian. He currently lives in New York, but continues to travel widely.

In Rooted in Light, Lucas Bononi presents a new body of work that explores the convergence of the human figure and the natural world through a mystical use of color and illumination. Based in New York, NY, Bononi creates a marbling of flesh and earth, where the human form melts into radiant, atmospheric layers that echo the raw textures of the natural world.
Paint strikes the surface with visceral energy. Rivers, forests, and flames emerge and dissolve through figuration and abstraction. Nature does not simply frame the figure; it inhabits it. A gentle current, a flicker of fire, or the density of roots weaves through the body, offering a vital glimpse into the human condition through the lens of an imagined, internal forest.
This elemental fusion is central to Bononi’s practice, an offering to the sacredness of nature and a call to preserve its unrepeatable beauty. Through a delicate balance of order and disorder, his work blurs the line between clarity and mystery. Skin becomes symbolic terrain, marked like ritual, echoing ancient myths and primal memory.
At the edges of each composition lies a quiet void, a haunting reminder of our modern detachment from the natural world. Rooted in Light invites us to return to something essential, to witness the interdependence of body and earth, and to reimagine our place within the living, breathing fabric of the world.

Opening hours:
June 27 – July 19
Tue-Fri 12:00 – 19:00
Sat 12:00 – 18:00
Other times by appointment