Stuart Yankell

“The goal of Stuart Yankell’s work,” author William Abrams writes, “is to convey something essential about our existence that is at once both truthful and affirming.” Using large brushes attached to bamboo poles his strokes are broad and visceral yet at the same time precise. He has long been a student of Asian culture and the Martial and Healing Arts and has sought to bring something ceremonial to his artistic process analogous to a dance or fencing ritual. Moving between realism and abstraction Yankell’s painting is about seeing depicting both the focus and periphery of natural vision. Seen up close the works are entirely abstract undulating with textural variations. At a distance however the images crystallize and come to life in the mind of the viewer. The art critic Burton Wasserman said “seeing Yankell’s paintings with your eyes is to soon feel them refreshing your heart and mind as they produce visions of joy at the center of your being.”

Yankell was trained in Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the University of Pennsylvania and the Frudakis Sculpture Academy. He also studied in Italy at Temple University and has taught painting and art history at the university level over the course of his career. Yankell is also known for his portraiture, and has been commissioned to paint a variety of business, political and academic figures for public and corporate collections, as well as children and families. Recent collectors in the entertainment industry include Dave Matthews, Carlos Santana, Ravi Coltrane, Natalie Merchant and both Wynton and Branford Marsalis.  Stuart Yankell’s work has earned a place in the vanguard of contemporary figurative painting and has been displayed in museums and galleries throughout the world.

Selected Solo Exhibitions

Yankell Legacy Gallery, Stamford, CT, 2022 
Celebration of Fine Art, Scottsdale, AZ, 2013 - 2022
Joseph Morris Gallery, Bala Cynwyd, PA, 2014 - 2021
The Hamilton Gallery Las Olas, Fort Lauderdale, FL, 2012- 2015
Abraham Moyal Gallery, Jerusalem, Israel, 2011
Zen Dog Gallery, Rhinebeck, NY, 2010 - 2012
Galeria de Casa San Telmo, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2009
Chagall Inc. Edmonton, Alberta, 2008
Louis Aronow Gallery, San Francisco, CA, 2005-2007
Laura Rathe Fine Art, Houston TX, 2007
Scuola Internationale di Grafica, Venice, Italy, 2006
Art & Soul, Indianapolis, ID, 2005, 2006
Marcus Ashley Gallery, Lake Tahoe, CA, 2005
Borsini – Burr Gallery, Half Moon Bay, CA, 2003-2006
Martha Clara Gallery, Riverhead, NY, 2004
Synchronicity Space, New York, NY, 2003, 2004
D’Adamo/ Woltz Gallery, Seattle, WA, 2001- 2003
Wyndy Morehead, New Orleans, LA, 2001- 2003
Bennett Gallery. Nashville, TN, 2001
Kulturring Hullhorst e.V. Gallery, Hullhorst, Germany, 2000
Galeria Madilian, Mallorca, Spain, 1999
La Jolla Gallery, La Jolla, CA, 1996 -1998
The Hyde Collection, Glens Falls, NY, 1996
Gallery of Contemporary Fine Arts, New York, NY, 1990 -1995
Columbus Gallery, New York, NY, 1989 -1994

Selected Group Exhibitions 

Art Market San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 2018 - 2109
Hidden in the Hills, Cave Creek, AZ, 2019 - 2021
Art Market Hamptons, Bridgehampton, NY, 2017
Royal Street Fine Art, Aspen, CO, 2014
Renee Taylor Gallery, Sedona, AZ, 2013
Neela Castana Gallery, Estero, Fl, 2007-2012
Galleria di Sorrento, Las Vegas, NV, 2007 -2009
Evergreen Fine Art, Evergreen, CO, 2004 -2006
Hanson Gallery, Carmel, CA, 2004
Global Art Gallery, Atlanta, GA, 2003
Whitney Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA, 2001
David Findlay Jr., New York, NY, 1998 - 2001
William Vincent Fine Art, Santa Fe, NM, 1998 
James A. Michener Museum, Doylestown, PA, 1996

Selected Corporate Collections

Disma Pharm, GmbH, Zurich, Switzerland
duPont Corporation, Wilmington, DE
Grecca International Corporation, Tokyo
IBM Corporation, New York, NY
Madaus, GmbH, Cologne, Germany
Weintraub Capital Management, San Francisco, CA

Selected  Music and Entertainment Industry Collections

Dave Matthews, Carlos Santana, Ravi Coltrane, Branford Marsalis, Wynton Marsalis, Jesse Cook, The Gypsy Kings, India Arie, Jeff Watts, Robert Porco, Soledad Barrio, M. Night Shyamalan

Teaching Experience

Adjunct Professor of Art History, Neumann University, Aston, PA, 1989-1997Adjunct Professor of Painting, Villanova University, Villanova, PA, 1993, 1994Adjunct Professor of Painting, Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ, 1989 -1995 

Education

University of Pennsylvania BFA, MFA 1985,1988
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Certificate 1985
Frudakis Sculpture Academy 1983 -1988
Schuylkill Sculpture Academy 1990 -1992
Temple University / Rome               1981