A conversation with BrutalEth
Marco Bonafè (Palermo, 1981) is an Italian artist and art director with over twenty years of experience in the contemporary art scene. Trained within a classical artistic tradition, his practice has evolved through continuous experimentation across media, spanning painting, sculpture, installation, and digital art.
Born and raised in Palermo, he obtained a diploma in fine arts and the title of Master of Art, developing early on a hybrid path between artistic research and applied practices. Before fully committing to visual art, he worked in graffiti, tattooing, handcrafted design objects, and independently produced art-driven t-shirt brands with international distribution. These experiences deeply informed his visual language and conceptual approach.
Since the early 2000s, Bonafè has taken part in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Italy, focusing on themes related to contemporary society, media culture, and visual perception. Notable exhibitions include Remains at Artopia Gallery in Milan (2011), a reflection on consumer culture through reclaimed materials, and Fake Cigarettes at Galleria Bianca in Palermo (2012), a body of work exploring fragility and counterfeit aesthetics through painting and sculpture.
He has participated in projects hosted by Museo Riso – Museum of Contemporary Art of Sicily and collaborated with the S.A.C.S. circuit, including a solo exhibition in Palermo. Bonafè was also the first artist to be awarded the prestigious VIR residency at Viafarini in Milan, curated by Milovan Farronato. The two-month residency culminated in a group exhibition, during which one of his works was acquired by Deutsche Bank.
His work is documented within international collections and markets through platforms such as Artsy, which feature recent projects connected to his role as artistic director and co-creator of a hybrid brand bridging art and design, encompassing landscapes and works made with natural and industrial materials.
In 2021, Bonafè embraced digital media as a new frontier, adopting the artistic alias BrutalEth for his Web3-based practice. This shift represents a synthesis rather than a rupture: his digital works often evoke generative and algorithmic aesthetics, while remaining grounded in an intentionally handcrafted and controlled process.
Across both physical and digital realms, Marco Bonafè’s practice weaves together art historical awareness, cultural critique, and technological experimentation, continually questioning the dynamics of consumption, visual memory, and contemporary perception.
A conversation with BrutalEth
Marco Bonafè (Palermo, 1981) is an Italian artist and art director with over twenty years of experience in the contemporary art scene. Trained within a classical artistic tradition, his practice has evolved through continuous experimentation across media, spanning painting, sculpture, installation, and digital art.
Born and raised in Palermo, he obtained a diploma in fine arts and the title of Master of Art, developing early on a hybrid path between artistic research and applied practices. Before fully committing to visual art, he worked in graffiti, tattooing, handcrafted design objects, and independently produced art-driven t-shirt brands with international distribution. These experiences deeply informed his visual language and conceptual approach.
Since the early 2000s, Bonafè has taken part in numerous solo and group exhibitions in Italy, focusing on themes related to contemporary society, media culture, and visual perception. Notable exhibitions include Remains at Artopia Gallery in Milan (2011), a reflection on consumer culture through reclaimed materials, and Fake Cigarettes at Galleria Bianca in Palermo (2012), a body of work exploring fragility and counterfeit aesthetics through painting and sculpture.
He has participated in projects hosted by Museo Riso – Museum of Contemporary Art of Sicily and collaborated with the S.A.C.S. circuit, including a solo exhibition in Palermo. Bonafè was also the first artist to be awarded the prestigious VIR residency at Viafarini in Milan, curated by Milovan Farronato. The two-month residency culminated in a group exhibition, during which one of his works was acquired by Deutsche Bank.
His work is documented within international collections and markets through platforms such as Artsy, which feature recent projects connected to his role as artistic director and co-creator of a hybrid brand bridging art and design, encompassing landscapes and works made with natural and industrial materials.
In 2021, Bonafè embraced digital media as a new frontier, adopting the artistic alias BrutalEth for his Web3-based practice. This shift represents a synthesis rather than a rupture: his digital works often evoke generative and algorithmic aesthetics, while remaining grounded in an intentionally handcrafted and controlled process.
Across both physical and digital realms, Marco Bonafè’s practice weaves together art historical awareness, cultural critique, and technological experimentation, continually questioning the dynamics of consumption, visual memory, and contemporary perception.
