Artist Statement
Adiah Bonham creates intentionally immediate, massively layered artworks, sometimes heavy enough to bleed through the surface. Her works exist as a reclamation of intention and movement solely reserved for productive or cultural approval. Adiah uses grayed, dry-brushed, dirty-looking color schemes to depict movements and intentions overlooked for being “unproductive”. Adiah uses words in her works/titles that carry nuanced contradictory meanings. Words like "gooey", “bleed”, “obviously”, "performative", “almost” and “forever”. By intentionally weaponizing layered immediacy and dual meaning, her work employs esoteric semblance to explore cognitive dissonances in contemporary American culture and activism to challenge binary thinking.

Adiah develops her language of painting through a practice of pulling from Frances Bacon, Cecily Brown, Alice Neil, Joseba Eskubi, George Rouy, Veronika Pausova, and Petra Schott. As an artist, Adiah is inspired by Katherine Bernhardt, IG@B0nezone, Simon Evans, IG@tannerclarkfuckingsucks, IG@iluvvvlife, IG@uglyy_fruuit and Anna Uddenberg.

Bio
Adiah was born and raised in Upper Arlington, Ohio and received a BFA with a concentration in painting from Kent State University. She currently maintain an art practice in Columbus/Kent Ohio.

Thanks always
Adiah