gal
| gal m. abramovich | |
|---|---|
 gal in 2026 |
|
| born | october 18, 2000 in locarno (ch) |
| education | university of fribourg (media and communications) and zurich university of the arts (fine arts) |
| known for | |
| based in | zurich (ch) and locarno (ch) |
[edit]
gal m. abramovich (born october 18, 2000 in locarno, switzerland) is a video and performance artist based in zurich and locarno, switzerland. he studied media and communications at the university of fribourg, and fine arts at the zurich university of the arts. he is best known for his multi-media artworks, often tackling with the use of humour themes of media, sexuality and art politics.
contents[hide] |
[edit]
early life
gal was born in locarno, switzerland from orit guttman, a mime and clown which graduated from the scuola teatro dimitri. from a young age, he was interested in performing and followed his mother’s theatre classes. she then tasked him with the request of creating videos and trailers of her show, which then prompted him from a young age to learn about videomaking, specifically in a context of the internet. during the covid pandemic, after graduating from the locarno high school, he decided to enroll at the university of fribourg for media and communication studies. he completed a semester exchange at the carroll college, in helena, montana. he graduated in 2023, right before enrolling in a bachelor of the fine arts, at the zurich university of the arts.
[edit]
beginning as an artist
starting from the year 2017, gal appeared in several short movies as an actor, and in school’s theatre and musical plays, some of them as actor and as a writer. he participated in his school’s video-making team. in the school year of 2017-2018 he learned in school about contemporary fine art, specifically maurizio cattelan and damian hirst. since then, he has described his dream job as the one of the fine artist. around the same time he met stefano cascili and renzo sartori, first to create the school’s radio station, but then they develop into long-term art collaborators.
in 2019, following the outbreak of greta thunberg, he is part of the founding members of sciopero per il clima, he will remain in the movement for four years, mostly in communications. he describes this time as a wake-up call for his nihilistic beliefs. in this time, he met and collaborated with musician leonardo pezzoli and actor siro pedrozzi. in 2021 he started to paint, starting a practice of expressionist and movement-based action painting, which then developed into more figurative representations after his stay in chicago, in the spring of 2025. this interest in painting prompted him to learn more about contemporary art practices, specifically through visits at the moma, sfmoma, lacma and whitney museum of american art. he recalls being very inspired by modern painters such as monet, van gogh and max beckmann. barbara kruger’s thinking of you. i mean me (2021). i mean you was also described as a very inspiring artwork, specifically the usage of humour and provocations in a context of art was important to show that the type of videomaking and installations that gal was interested in doing were not only possible but celebrated. alex da corte’s roy g biv (2022) was also instrumental for gal’s art practice, and it’s often described by him as one of his biggest inspirations. in 2021 gal starts a musical project with renzo sartori, culminating in one (released) track and music video.
[edit]
education in fine art
[edit]
in zurich
gal enrolled in fine arts at the zurich academy of the arts in the bachelor of fine art. the school’s model allowed him to experiment with his art making and to develop independently as an artist. he created and participated in several exhibitions in the context of the school and had the possibility of creating for contexts outside of his institutions, such as for the gallery fabienne levy in 2024 or for the swiss pavilion and swiss science consulate in osaka the 2025 world expo. more details here. his tutors, monster chetwynd, tarek lakhrissi, billy davis and arrtu palmio, allowed him to grow and build a narrative structure (and fil rouge) that still continues today. focusing on themes of (new) media, contrast between analog and technology, between memes and traditions, queernes and sexuality and social and economic state of switzerland and ticino, the swiss canton where he is from.
[edit]
in chicago
in 2025, gal participated in a semester abroad at the school of the art institute of chicago. there he developed his role as a performance artist, video maker, painter and sewer. he also started to get connected to the queer art scene of the city, specifically with queer performers and drag queens.
[edit]
art practice
gal combines his artistic origins in the world of clowning and performance with contemporary issues, specifically of media, sexuality and politics. he describes (his) body as the main storyteller of his works, transforming the bodies into unappealing characters, that often ungraciously see themselves in colourful worlds or in swiss urban environments. gal’s fascination for the looser can be seen in his videos and short films, where they are often the protagonist, not obtaining more than a mediocre ending to their stories. gal’s use of humour, specifically in his sharp video editing, are a central and recurring aspect of his films. gal uses his humour also to criticise and create satire, often against powers in the swiss cultural context or in the media.
gal combines his artistic origins in the world of clowning and performance with contemporary issues, specifically of media, sexuality and politics. he describes (his) body as the main storyteller of his works, transforming the bodies into unappealing characters, that often ungraciously see themselves in colourful worlds or in swiss urban environments. gal’s fascination for the looser can be seen in his videos and short films, where they are often the protagonist, not obtaining more than a mediocre ending to their stories. gal’s use of humour, specifically in his sharp video editing, are a central and recurring aspect of his films. gal uses his humour also to criticise and create satire, often against powers in the swiss cultural context or in the media.
just like other artists similar to him (such as ryan trecartin), gal has claimed to find the most inspiration from pop and internet culture for his artworks. he borrows heavily from this form of media, specifically in the storytelling, performance, and humour. at the same time, he criticizes heavily in his work the way that this space is evolving, specifically regarding its heavy connection with capitalism.
his relationship with clowning and physical theatre is also very visible in his performances, which often blend the traditional schemes of physical theatre and the structure and context of performance art. he uses these connections to tell the story of his life and the context that he originates from, acting personally in the performances he writes.
gal has also started a practice of solo exhibiting, almost bordering with installation. he will create and curate by himself art experiences or art exhibitions with a very stark fil rouge, he developed three before graduating from the zurich university of the art: “i’m getting older and it’s cringe af” (about the theme of growth and of evolution), “oh bella verzaschina” (about the cultural, structural and emotional inequalities of zurich and his hometown), and “if i was adam i would have eaten the apple first” (about desire and objectification in the queer community).
the relationship that gal has with movement and physical bodies is also omnipresent in his practice as a painter. in it, he tells stories using movement, occasionally action painting, to talk about emotions and stories. the painting of the canvas can be itself described as a performance.
gal has described his practice as eclectic since he is only obeying to the idea, claiming that if he has a great idea for an artwork involving a technique he cannot do, he will learn it in order to execute the artwork.
[edit]
personal life
he has been married 4 times, including a private marriage with margaret pearlington, the duchess of carmintire, and a very public relationship with monica kapeepy.
[edit]