Stuart Yankell

Stuart Yankell’s work celebrates life and the common fabric of humanity. Combining abstraction with a kinetic approach rooted in classical lighting and form, he embraces historical convention while seeking to expand the language of art. For more than four decades, Yankell has painted a multitude of musical and dance forms, as well as figurative themes based on a broad range of universal settings. He has traveled to nearly twenty countries, and his works are developed through a combination of on-site painting, studio work with live models, and the forces of instinct and imagination. “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 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 -2025 The White Room Gallery, East Hampton, NY, 2024 Bella Fine Art Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ, 2024 Celebration of Fine Art, Scottsdale, AZ, 2013 - 2025
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 Museum and Institutional Collections

Museum of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
City of Philadelphia, Public Art Mural, Philadelphia, PA
City of Hullhorst, Westphalia, Germany
 

Teaching Experience

Neumann University, Aston, PA, 1989 - 1997
Villanova University, Villanova, PA, 1993, 1994
Rowan University, Glassboro, NJ, 1989 - 1995 

Selected Grants

Scuola Internationale di Grafica, Venice, Italy, 2006
“Kunstnester” Grant, Internationales Kunstlersymposium, Hullhorst, Germany, 2000

Selected Group Exhibitions 
Art Market San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, 2018 - 2019 Hidden in the Hills, Cave Creek, AZ, 2019 - 2021 Art Market Hamptons, Bridgehampton, NY, 2017 Gallerie Severn, New Orleans, LA, 2014
Royal Street Fine Art, Aspen, CO, 2014
Rich Timmons Gallery, Doylestown, PA, 2012
Neela Castana Gallery, Estero, Fl, 2010
Galleria di Sorrento, Las Vegas, NV, 2008, 2009
Louis Aronow Gallery, San Francisco, CA, 2005 - 2007
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

Selected  Entertainment Industry Collections

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

Education

University of Pennsylvania, BFA, MFA    1985,1988
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Certificate    1985
Frudakis Sculpture Academy, 1983-90
Temple University / Rome, 1981