Ron Amato: Artists of Provincetown

Fredi Schiff Levin Lecture with the artist and curator: Thursday, July 18 at 6pm

This exhibition highlights artists with deep ties to Provincetown, the oldest continuous artist colony in the United States, during the early 21st century.

Made over a period of eight years, Ron Amato has created eighty-four deeply penetrating portraits which illustrate the breadth and depth of the community. Making use of the color and light which is uniquely Provincetown, Amato’s imagery is both dynamic and authentic. Ron’s ability to reveal truth within his subjects, while heightening the environmental elements within a photograph is what makes these portraits so special. 

Continuing in the tradition of photographer Norma Holt a generation earlier, Amato has created a rich portrait of the current artist community in Provincetown. Twenty-seven of Ron’s portraits are of artists Norma also photographed, some up to a half century earlier. Ron’s photographs of these pivotal figures in the Provincetown art community at a  later point in their lives and careers is part of what makes Ron’s work historically significant. In addition, Ron’s photographs capture the vitality that is the artist community now. Many of the people in these photographs are crucial to shaping history and preserving the traditions for future generations, while forging new ways to welcome and nurture new artists in the community.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Ron Amato is a Professor in the Photography and Related Media department of Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. Much of Ron’s art practice revolves around his identity as a Gay man. Some of the issues explored in Ron’s work are aging within the Gay community, male representation in social media and the ongoing political attack on LGBTQ community in the United States. His first monograph, The Box, visually represents Ron’s journey from a boy born into a second-generation Italian-American family in Brooklyn, NY to his current position as a respected educator and artist. Ron’s second monograph, 100 Members Only Volume 1, is a visual exploration of the male phallus. Ron is a leader for diversity and inclusion on the FIT campus, serving nine years on The President’s Diversity Council. He has exhibited extensively both nationally and  internationally. His seminal exhibition of intimate self-portraits at Richard Anderson’s Fine Arts gallery in NYC in 2000, established Ron as a leading Queer artist. He is a regular contributor to numerous publications with images representing queerness and male sexuality. Ron is currently curator of photography at Soho Project Space in NYC. In his early commercial photography career, Ron was a regular contributor to many print magazine’s, including Men’s Health and Sports Illustrated. In the early 2000s, he worked in the world of theater, designing projections for numerous productions. 

Artists of Provincetown marks a return to Ron’s first love, environmental portraiture. He has a BFA in Photography from School of Visual Art, NYC and an MFA in New Media Art and Performance from Long Island University.

IMAGE: Ron Amato, Pat de Groot