From gemology to geometry, Bonco - artist Paul Nathan's alter ego - has had a varied career that has focused on the beauty of different shapes and colours in entirely different ways. The artist,who has a BA majoring in Art History and Art Theory from the University of Canterbury and a Master of Fine Arts from Elam at the University of Auckland,spent 10 years as a gemologist working in the jewellery industry. After a stint as a fashion and art photographer in New York, he returned to New Zealand and took up painting full-time once he'd completed his MFA. Bonco is inspired by geometric forms in nature and combinations of colour in the hope that he'll discover "a symbolist window to transcend consciousness... the main principle behind the foundation of geometric abstraction in 20th century art". He mostly works with oil paint on linen:"I love the richness of oil and the natural colour and texture of linen," he says. "I don't use tape, everything is hand-painted, so if you look closely the lines are far from straight." Recently he has also turned his hand to rugs and other textiles.
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