KEVIN QUILES BONILLA
Kevin Quiles Bonilla (b. 1992, San Juan, Puerto Rico) is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice spans photography, performance, and installation. His work critically engages with themes of power, colonialism, migration, and historical memory, using his own identity and lived experiences as a lens to examine broader socio-political narratives. Through a thoughtful interplay of visual and conceptual elements, Quiles Bonilla explores the legacies of colonial structures, the fluidity of place and belonging, and the resilience of marginalized communities.
FEATURED ARTWORK
BIOGRAPHY
Kevin Quiles Bonilla (b. 1992, San Juan, Puerto Rico) is an interdisciplinary artist whose practice spans photography, performance, and installation. His work critically engages with themes of power, colonialism, migration, and historical memory, using his own identity and lived experiences as a lens to examine broader socio-political narratives. Through a thoughtful interplay of visual and conceptual elements, Quiles Bonilla explores the legacies of colonial structures, the fluidity of place and belonging, and the resilience of marginalized communities.
He received a BA in Fine Arts, magna cum laude, from the University of Puerto Rico (2015) and an MFA in Fine Arts with honors from Parsons The New School of Design (2018). His work has been exhibited at major institutions, including the Brooklyn Museum, Queens Museum, Lincoln Center, and the Ford Foundation. Recent solo exhibitions include Real Art Ways (Hartford, CT, 2021), Wave Hill Public Garden and Cultural Center (Bronx, NY, 2022), and Baxter St at the Camera Club of New York (2024).
In 2022, Quiles Bonilla debuted his first public artwork, "For centuries, and still..." (anticipated completion), created in collaboration with artist Zaq Landsberg and presented through NYC Parks. His commitment to artistic research and experimentation has led him to participate in numerous prestigious residencies, including the Arts + Disability Residency (2018-2019), LMCC Workspace Residency (2019-2020), Smack Mellon Artist Studio Program (2022-2023), NYLAAT Residency Program (2023), Monira Foundation Residency (2024), and The Arts Center at Governors Island (2024).
Quiles Bonilla has also been recognized as a Fellow at En Foco Inc Photography Fellowship (2021), EmergeNYC (2021), Art Matters Artist2Artist Fellowship (2023), and the Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop Kahn|Mason SIP Fellowship (2024). His work has garnered critical acclaim and has been featured in prominent publications such as Hyperallergic, The Washington Post, BOMB Magazine, and The Guardian.
Splitting his time between New York and Puerto Rico, Quiles Bonilla continues to push the boundaries of contemporary art by interrogating historical and present-day power dynamics while amplifying narratives of resistance, displacement, and cultural resilience.
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