About Daniel Bonilla-Vera
Photograph courtesy of the the artist.
Daniel Bonilla-Vera is a visual artist from California's San Joaquin Valley, currently residing in Visalia, California. As a son of undocumented farm laborers, as well as himself undocumented, most of Daniel’s life has been filled with uncertainty, anxiety and fear. As a coping mechanism, he immersed himself in his studies, excelling in reading, writing and music, but ultimately selecting the visual medium as his preferred method of storytelling. His work explores the inner conflict of not belonging, self sacrifice, gender, sexuality, culture, community and how to make sense of it.
Daniel is a major supporter of alternative art spaces. Daniel has participated in guerrilla art fairs and pop-up galleries, and has shown in formal galleries and museum settings in California's Los Angeles, Tulare and Fresno counties.
Daniel gathers inspiration from great photographers like Vicenzo Galdi, Minor White, Robert Mapplethorpe, Edward Weston, Ron Van Dongen, and Thibault Stipal.
Daniel recently completed his B.F.A in Photography at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) in 2017, and hopes to receive his M.F.A in Photography in the future.
Summer of '16