Gil Bruvel

Mask#169, by Gil Bruvel, burnt wood and acrylic paint

2022

Born in Sydney, Australia, in 1959, Gil Bruvel had French-born parents who moved the family back to the South of France when he was four years old. While taking drawing lessons at age nine and learning sculpture basics, Bruvel made the decision to spend his life creating art. He began working with oil paint at the age of 12, and the local environment had an enormous and lasting influence on his palette — he found himself inspired by the light and landscapes in this region, giving him luminous colors that he continues to use today. 

Bruvel's father, a cabinetmaker, introduced the budding artist to the inner workings of a wood workshop, including furniture design, its practical function and every aspect of handcrafting each piece. Taking this knowledge and experience with him, Bruvel began studying at an art restoration workshop in 1974, spending the next three years learning the techniques of the Old Masters and modern masters of fine art. Thereafter, he set up his studio in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, where he worked until 1986, when he first made his way to the United States, making it his permanent residence in 1990. At that time, he started to experiment more with sculptures in bronze, mixed media and digital modeling, and he continued to learn about creative processes in artistic expression. He is currently creating functional art, sculptures and paintings. Gil Bruvel has been exhibiting his work since 1974 in various places around the world, including France, Monaco, England, Denmark, the Netherlands, Hungary, Japan, Singapore, New York, Florida, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, California and Hawaii.