A painter and draftsman by calling and choice, Gerard Ellis establishes an interesting dichotomy between the practice of painting and social critique. His pictorial work is highly expressive and vigorous for those who directly or indirectly participate in the multiple strata of the contexts of which this artist speaks. The violence, corruption and lack of willpower characteristic of our times are central topics of his meticulous pictorial work. There is a studied connection and interdependence between what is his work and what constitutes his life experiences, which translates into a certain underlying politicization of life’s experience. Self-referential and sometimes autobiographical, his dynamic yet intensely personal and authentic compositions serve on dual levels; not only are they effective in presenting the viewer with truncated iconoclastic narratives, but they also possess a strong visual vocabulary of technical styles.

Ellis competes in a direct relation to the animal, this time, no longer domestic (an owl, a cybor-dog, among others) with the man and are constant companions to the figures in the paintings. Equipped with a dramatic quality, the plastic movement of each one of the works speaks of speed and stillness, paralysis and aggression, being the diachronic dichotomy of the mental movement of the spectator.

Born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in 1976, he graduated from the National School of Fine Arts and the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo. Selected to be part of the “S-Files”, the 6th edition of the El Museo del Barrio Biennial in NY, 2011. Has been recognized with three awards of Excellence by The Society of News Design, 2007-2008. In 2007 was invited to be part of the IX edition of the Cuenca International Biennial, Ecuador. His work has been exhibited in group shows in the Nassau County Museum of Art, NY, The IDB Cultural Center and The Mexican Cultural Institute in Washington, D.C. Selected to be part of the National Biennial of Visual Arts and the XX edition of the E. León Jimenes Art Contest (Biennial), where he received the Prize for painting, both in the Dominican Republic. He participated in the “Sarmiento Public Art Project, 2007” in public areas of the city of Santo Domingo.

International contemporary art fairs include: Volta NY, Scope, Pinta and Arte BA. His work is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach, CA; Fundación para la Pintura, Canaria, Spain; the Museum of Contemporary Drawing and the Museum of Modern Art in Santo Domingo; The Dominican Congress and in private collections in New York, London, Miami, Spain, Panamá, Venezuela, Puerto Rico and Santo Domingo.