Ron Amir

Israeli photographer Ron Amir engages in long-term projects, highlighting politically, socially, culturally, and economically marginalized communities. His practice is characterized by the use of an analog camera to produce large-format photographs, thus necessitating a slow and deliberate working process, turning the camera itself into a tool for social interaction. Amir chooses to photograph only where a long-term interpersonal relationship allows him to do so, taking on a vested personal interest in his subjects, whether human or inanimate. Often engaged in the aesthetics of poverty, Amir’s images tend to center on moments of resourcefulness and success in otherwise impoverished and scant environments. The viewer is beckoned to reconcile their relative definitions of success and failure while grappling with Amir’s careful compositions.

Amir’s recent solo exhibitions include Haifa Museum of Art, Hezi Cohen Gallery in Tel Aviv, and the Artists’ Studios in Tel Aviv. His work has been exhibited at the KW Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin, the Ashdod Art Museum, The Open Museum of Photography in Tel Hai, The Mediterranean Biennale in Sakhnin, Institute of Contemporary Art Philadelphia, and the Herzliya Museum of Contemporary Art. Amir has received numerous grants, awards, and residencies including the Artport Residency Program in Tel Aviv, the Creative Encouragement Award from the Ministry of Cultural in Israel, the Young Artist Award from the Ministry of Culture in Israel, and the Rabinovich Foundation Scholarship in Tel Aviv. Amir lectures at several schools in Israel such as Minstar School of Art, The Musrara School of Photography, Media and New Music, and Hamidrasha Art School at Beit Berl College.