Biography
Ronen Gamil (b. 1980 in Brooklyn, NY; lives and works in Brooklyn, NY) is a Yemeni-Israeli artist raised in Israel. He lived and traveled extensively in Italy, Spain, and South America. Gamil had solo exhibitions at FiveMyles and Prospect Park and group shows at Socrates Sculpture Park, FiveMyles, and Summit Public Art (forthcoming 2022). Trained in art and architecture, Gamil earned a BA and Master of Urban Planning from the City College of New York.
Gamil received the Emerging Artist Fellowship from Socrates Sculpture Park. Smack Mellon selected him as a 2020 Hot Pick. His work was featured in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Public Radio International, BK Reader, and artdaily.com.
Artist Statement
Working in installation, I assemble colorful, mixed-media objects of steel and copper wire, aluminum drinking cans, wood, and fabrics. My goal is to draw connections between the plights of both human and non-human animals and to blur divisions and established hierarchies between these two groups that coinhabit this Earth.
In one installation, twenty-four miniature tents are collaged of aluminum cans and sleek plexiglass grid compositions. In another, an immersive, neighborhood map tapestry marks sites of high-end buildings layered with stripe patterns from my ethnicity as a Yemeni. Another example is a series of passages through long, eye-height, horizontal fabric bands confining audiences to experience border control while celebrating migrant diversity.
I strive to generate expansive discussions on an inequitable social and environmental world order. In my research-guided practice, I focus on relationships between three topics: affordable housing for humans, habitat for non-human animals, and migration experiences of both humans and wildlife.
Bright colors often invite audiences to contemplate layered questions in my installations and sculptures. Contrast between form and content plays a key role: colorful surfaces manifest in stark distinction to the darkness of subject matter. This inconsistency playfully misleads audiences to grapple with unpleasant, uncomfortable social or ecological realities.
