A signal urgent but breaking

"Paint clinging to small, unexpected spaces; everyday stains—tobacco, soil, shellac—relocated to canvas; hints of language within visual fields; gestural trails of brushwork; tiny stitches and scratches; mere centimeters of disruption. . .these are the places of intimacy and incident in the work of the twenty-two artists who graduated from the Yale School of Art’s graduate program in painting and printmaking in spring 2023. Emerging into a post-pandemic cultural landscape, the cohort reminds us of the profound lessons learned since 2020: to dig deep roots and hold as precious our immediate worlds; to value the exploration and expression of self, extracted from conventional routines and institutional systems; and to recognize the vital need to care intensely about those who navigate these precarious times with us. 

 

Written by Kristen Hileman, Co-Teacher with Rachelle Dang, Yale Painting and Printmaking Thesis Seminar, 2023.