Gail Buono

I have been an artist since childhood. My primary medium is oil painting. I am inspired by metaphysical phenomena, based on my interest in mystical influences and supernatural experiences. Concurrently, I have been fascinated by geometry, specifically, circular imagery (arcs, ovals, ovoids, and spirals) for many years. My art education consisted of both minimalist and conceptualist ideas of the early 1970s, and from that foundation, I was able to build my geometric imagery, with a narrative quality. "The Pool of Happiness", "The Cleansing Pool", and "The Pool of Ancestral Return" are part of my current "Pool" series, which was derived from "The Floating World" series, based on forms created from the intersection of arcs emanating from 12 equidistant points on the circumference of randomly placed circles. Once the arcs are drawn, I decide which shapes to use. This random adoption of imagery creates an interesting challenge to pull the painting together through color and form. I am intrigued by the evolving process as the painting progresses to completion. The colors are glazed to heighten the perception of a stained glass effect and a more ethereal quality to the imagery. In the "Pool" series, the ovoid in the center of each painting acts as a portal through which the higher dimensional entities plunge to influence the 3D elements below in the Earth plane. Thus, with a narrative structure, I find more meaning in conveying ideas, other than through geometry alone.

Gail Buono received a BFA in Painting from The School of Visual Arts, in New York City. She has received two painting fellowships and a "Distinguished Artist Award" from the NJ State Council on the Arts. Gail painted in Italy for 15 months, with a solo show in Pisa, before returning to the U.S. Her paintings were used as sole set for two one-act plays by the Rivoli Stage Co., at the William Carlos Williams Art Center (in conjunction with a solo show), in Rutherford, NJ, and at the Westbeth Theatre Center, in Manhattan. Four of her paintings were selected for a university circuit tour, "The Enduring Presence (New York Abstraction)". She moved to the Santa Fe area in mid-2006. In 2012, she was chosen by Peter Frank, as a juror honoree in the "New Mexico Showcase" at 516 Arts, in Albuquerque. She has shown her work at various venues in Santa Fe, including a show at Tom Ross Gallery on Canyon Rd. In 2022, she was selected by the Santa Fe Gallery Association to be part of their website's artist catalog. In 2025, Gail had a one person show at Electra Gallery entitled, "Eyewitness: The UFO Paintings", based on her and her family's experience in 1971. The paintings were created from 1983 through 2002. Gail is represented by Electra Gallery, in Santa Fe, and by Indigo Gallery, in Madrid, NM.

2-D, Painting (all materials)