Gommaar Gilliams

About

Lives and works in Hasselt, Belgium.

Gommaar Gilliams’s work possesses the ability to transport the viewer into an ethereal realm of longing and ineffable connection. Drawing from the legacies of Abstract Expressionism and Symbolism, the artist develops a distinctive visual language that flows between figuration and abstraction. His recurring motifs are mythical figures, animals, and celestial elements who inhabit fantastical landscapes that invite the viewer into lush, dreamlike spaces. Gilliams’s practice is rooted in a process of stratification reminiscent of fresco painting. Beginning with acrylic dyes that saturate the fabric, he subsequently layers oil paints and sticks to construct dynamic surfaces where color interactions generate unfolding narratives, resulting in a richly textured, multifaceted composition. Gilliams’s practice seeks to evoke universal stories and timeless human experiences, encouraging viewers to engage with the work by reconnecting with their own “half-remembered” dreams and personal mythologies. His paintings reaffirm the capacity of painting to bridge the personal and the collective, evoking shared human memories and emotions.

Gommaar Gilliams was born in 1982 in Lier (Belgium). He studied at LUCA School of Arts in Brussels and PXL College in Hasselt. He has since presented numerous solo exhibitions throughout Europe, as well as in South Africa and the United States. His work has been featured at international art fairs including Art Brussels, Expo Chicago, and Zona Maco.

CV

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SOLO AND DUO EXHIBITIONS (since 2016)
Lightly, lightly, De Markthallen, Herk-de-Stad, Belgium (2025)
Awake, Sleep, Gallery Sofie Van de Velde, Antwerp, Belgium (2024)
Retracing Walkways, De Buck Gallery, Saint-Paul de Vence, France (2024)
Celestial Garden, SMAC Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa (2024)
The Ballad of my Lover’s Boat, Arusha Gallery, London, UK (2024)
Under Cassiopeia, De Buck Gallery, New York, USA (2022)
Sunkissed, Moonlit, Gallery Sofie Van de Velde, Antwerp, Belgium (2022)
What do you want?, Gallery Sofie Van de Velde, Antwerp, Belgium (2021)
If you were dreaming, De Buck Gallery, Saint-Paul-de-Vence, France (2021)
Fly me to the moon, NIL Gallery, Paris, France (2021)
In the ballpark, Gallery Sofie Van de Velde, Antwerp, Belgium (2020)
Only for you, ArtBorgloon, Borgloon, Belgium (2020)
Always been told, De Buck Gallery, New York, USA (2020)
Romeo’s Tune, Gallery Sofie Van de Velde, Antwerp, Belgium (2018)
Jenny kissed me, De Buck Gallery, New York, USA (2018)
Unblinking Devotion, Z33 Hasselt, Belgium (2016)
ATC, Galerie Martin Van Blerk, Antwerp, Belgium (2016)
Gardening In The Night, PXL Gym, Hasselt, Belgium (2016)

GROUP EXHIBITIONS (since 2016)
Bestiari, Alzueta Gallery, Barcelona, Spain (2026)
Méditarranées, NIL Gallery, Paris, France (2025)
The Cabin LA Presents: A Curated Flashback, Green Family Art Foundation, Dallas, USA (2023)
L’heure bleue Part I, Gallery Sofie Van de Velde, Antwerp, Belgium (2020)
Proposal for a Collection, Gallery Annarumma, Naples, Italy (2020)
Kronos, Museum Santa Monica, Barcelona, Spain (2019)
Looking at the world through rose colored glasses, Gallery Sofie Van de Velde, Antwerp, Belgium (2019)
Soft? (tactile dialogues), MOMU, Antwerp, Belgium (2019)
In the Picture, Gallery Sofie Van de Velde, Antwerp, Belgium (2017)
Unblinking Devotion, Z33 Hasselt, Hasselt, Belgium (2016)

ART FAIRS
ABU DHABI ART, NIL Gallery, Abu Dhabi, UAE (2025)
ENTER ART FAIR, NIL Gallery, Copenhaguen, Denmark (2025)
CONTEMPORARY ART NOW, NIL Gallery, Ibiza, Spain (2025)
ART BRUSSELS, Gallery Sofie Van de Velde, Brussels, Belgium (2025)
DALLAS ART FAIR, NIL Gallery, Dallas, USA (2025)
EXPO CHICAGO, De Buck Gallery, Chicago, USA (2025)
ZONA MACO, NIL Gallery, Mexico City, Mexico (2025)
INVESTEC CAPE TOWN ART FAIR, SMAC Gallery, Cape Town, South Africa (2025)
ABU DHABI ART, NIL Gallery, Abu Dhabi, UAE (2024)
THE SALON BY NADA & THE COMMUNITY, NIL Gallery, Paris, France (2024)
ART ATHINA, NIL Gallery, Athens, Greece (2024)
ENTER ART FAIR, NIL Gallery, Copenhaguen, Denmark (2024)
ART BRUSSELS, Gallery Sofie Van de Velde, Brussels, Belgium (2023)
SP ARTE, NIL Gallery, Sao Paulo, Brazil (2023)
EXPO CHICAGO, De Buck Gallery, Chicago, USA (2023)
MIAMI ARTS WEEK, De Buck Gallery, Miami, USA (2023)
ART ROTTERDAM, Gallery Sofie Van de Velde, Rotterdam, The Netherlands (2022)
UNTITLED ART, De Buck Gallery, Miami, USA (2022)
BIENNALE VAN DE SCHILDERKUNST, MUDEL Museum, Deinze, Belgium (2022)
KUNSTFESTIVAL AARDENBURG, Aardenburg, The Netherlands (2022)
CAPE TOWN ART FAIR, Gallery Sofie Van de Velde, Cape Town, South Africa (2020)
ART ROTTERDAM, Gallery Sofie Van de Velde, Rotterdam, The Netherlands (2019)
ART BRUSSELS, Gallery Sofie Van de Velde, Brussels, Belgium (2019)
ART BRUSSELS, Gallery Sofie Van de Velde, Brussels, Belgium (2017)
ART THE HAGUE, Eastmen Gallery, The Hague, The Netherlands (2014)

ARTIST RESIDENCIES
The Cabin LA – SMAC Gallery Residency Program, Cape Town, South Africa (2022)

PUBLICATIONS
Aatonau, interview (2025)
Artsin Square, cover art and interview (2024)
The Art Couch, interview (2020)
Asian curator, spotlight interview (2020)
H Art Magazine, Longing for Arcadia (2020)
Artdaily NY, Romeo’s Tune (2018)
Word Magazine (2018)
Imagicasa (2018)
Word Magazine (2018)
World Magazine, In The Picture (2017)
Wanatoe, HBVL (2016)
H art magazine, Trash: curated by Koen Van Den Broek, n 140 (2015)
H art magazine, Gommaar Gilliams, paintings and works on paper, n 126 (2014)
D!ng Magazine (2014)

AWARDS
‘Grote Prijs Ernest Albert’, Mechelen, Belgium
‘De zee – CC Keerbergen’, Keerbergen, Belgium
‘Prijs van de stad Harelbeke’, Harelbeke, Belgium
‘Frans Van der Cammenprijs’, Merchtem, Belgium
‘Dexiaprijs’, Brussels, Belgium
‘11de Internationale prijs Hoppeland’, Poperinge, Belgium
‘Grote Prijs voor schilderkunst A.Blomme’, Dendermonde, Belgium