October 10 - November 16, 2020

The Best is Yet to Come

Ronen Gamil

Opening reception: Saturday, Oct. 16, 5-8pm.
Social Distancing restrictions apply, please see below.

The Best is Yet to Come is a textile collage installation about real estate speculation, gentrification and displacement and social control. The installation forms a  diagrammatic neighborhood map of luxury real estate as a fundamental force of racial capitalism. A tapestry-like and carpet-like collage enmeshes patterns inspired by traditional garments of Yemeni Jews with the burgeoning luxury real estate space economy in Crown Heights.   

Social Distancing: For the opening reception 12 people will be allowed in the space at a time. Please wear a mask.

Artist statement:

My lived experience as a Yemeni Jew of color born in Brooklyn and coming of age in the hegemonic Israeli society shaped my subjectivity. As a second class citizen in Israel, and by being racialized in the US as a person of color, I relate to the struggles for equity and liberation of melanated people in NYC and across the world. 

The title The Best is Yet to Come evokes the orthodox urban planning dictate of "the highest and best use" of land, recalls a loudly projected speech conclusion from the 2020 Republican National Convention, expresses concern about the future of Crown Heights, and warns of the current trend in the housing market throughout NYC. 

About the Artist:

Ronen Gamil is a visual artist and public horticulturist focused on habitat. His media are installation, sculpture, textiles, and furniture. Gamil exhibited at Socrates Sculpture Park, Prospect Park, and FiveMyles. He earned a BA and a Master of Urban Planning from the City College of New York.  
His textile installation Threshold formed a liminal space to meditate on migration. His installation Home(-) and Garden connected mass homelessness with NYC's luxury apartment market.  
Gamil received the Emerging Artist Fellowship from Socrates Sculpture Park. Smack Mellon selected him as a 2020 Hot Pick. His work has been featured in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, Public Radio International, BK Reader, and artdaily.com.  

Gallery Hours:

Thursday - Sunday, 1 - 6pm, or by appointment. Please email hanne@fivemyles.org, or call 718-783-4438.
Please wear a facemask to visit the gallery. Visitors without masks cannot be let inside. Thank you for your cooperation.

DIRECTIONS:

Take 2, 3, or 4 trains to Franklin Avenue. Walk two blocks against the traffic on Franklin. Walk ¾ block to 558 St. Johns Place. FiveMyles is within easy walking distance from the Brooklyn Museum.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

FiveMyles is in part supported by the New York State Council for the Arts, Public Funds from the New York City Dept. of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, Council Member Laurie Cumbo, the Greenwich Collection, The Jacques and Natasha Gelman Foundation, the Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation, and the Wolf Kahn and Emily Mason Foundation.