Yvette uses techniques such as encaustic and collage to create her deeply meaningful works. A technique used by the ancient Greeks, encaustic is a medium comprised of melted wax and colored pigment. Once the wax hardens, a rich, unique texture and finish is produced on the surface. Yvette received her B.F.A. from Kendall College of Art and Design and her M.F.A. from the University of Cincinnati. Along with participating in many exhibitions, Yvette has been an instructor at USC as well as City Art.
Artist's Statement
"These paintings are a reflection of my life spent deciphering the language of my viscera. In this work, I am exploring the awareness I have of pain within my body in relation to the space in which it is perceived. The mind’s ability to filter information received from the body produces an abstraction of the internal self. The rendering of these moments creates the forms presented in the pieces. I am producing my abstracted visceral systems base on my filtered sensations. The viewer is given what remains after the information of the body has been interpreted through my perception. Even information of chronic pain is misleading due to our biological makeup. Pain is the indicator of place within the self, however the origins of sensation are deceptive. Spatial perceptions of known systems render the basis for the space and forms I use. Encaustic is used as a metaphor fro the physical body. Its constant shifts in malleability mirror our own physicality.
Artists have explored the genre of still life painting for a variety of reasons. Fruits, vegetables, meats and cheeses have been used as symbols of excess as well as representations of the human body. In this work I am combining traditional still life objects with historical paintings and figures to further develop the relationship fruits and vegetables have with internal organs and polyp like forms found in and outside the body. I use historical paintings and photographs of women because of the silenced atrocities our bodies have undergone and the physical manifestations that have developed as a result of these violations. In the same way early Dutch masters used the bounty around them to reveal the great societal happenings of their time, I am using the juxtaposition of the fruit and vegetable forms to represent the physical growths that have historically plagued women."