YANKELL              

 Yankell's painting celebrates life and the common fabric of humanity. Working in ink, oil, and acrylic, he combines abstraction with a kinetic approach rooted in classical lighting and form that both embraces historical convention and seeks to expand the language of art.

His recent work includes an array of musical and dance genres ranging from jazz and fusion to flamenco and tango, as well as market and café scenes taken from daily life. At the same time, he is also capable of striking abstracts. Yankell develops his work through a combination of on-site painting, live models, and an exploration of his own instinct and imagination. 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 Arts, and there is something almost ceremonial in the process, as if it were a dance or fencing ritual. Seen up close, the works are often entirely abstract, undulating with textural variations. At a distance however, the images crystallize and come to life in the mind of the viewer himself. It is this experience of viewing with which the artist is engaging us.

Yankell was trained in Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Frudakis Sculpture Academy. He studied art history at Temple University in Italy, and currently lives with his wife and two daughters in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania. His work has been exhibited in museums and galleries internationally and is recognized for its unique and progressive style. Recent collectors include Carlos Santana, India Arie, Jeff Watts, George Benson, and both Winton and Branford Marsalis. Yankell is also well 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 & families for private collections around the world.