Renowned Artist Joseph R. Yonke’s Solo Exhibition “Intricacies of Being” Opens in Wynwood

Art aficionados and collectors will experience an exciting solo exhibition, “Intricacies of Being”, by renowned contemporary artist Joseph R. Yonke, taking place at Lelia Mordoch Gallery in the Wynwood Art District at 2300 N. Miami Avenue this weekend Saturday, July 29th through Sunday, July 30th. Art lovers are invited to the Opening Reception on Saturday, July 29th from 6 – 11pm, where guests will enjoy Yonke’s artworks as well as Meet & Greet the Artist + light bites and drinks will be served. Parking is available on the street and in the garage of the Strata Wynwood. The evening will be one of Wynwood’s most exclusive events of the summer season.

Joseph R. Yonke was trained from a young age by the well-known painter Robert Yonke, his Grandfather, who served as a source of inspiration and mentorship for the artist. His unique abstract-expressionist style captures elements of surrealism and cubism, combined with his impasto technique – Yonke’s work has captivated art critics and enthusiasts worldwide. His vibrant and often chaotic paintings reflect his experiences and significant moments in his life and explore themes of identity, emotion, consciousness, and the human condition.

Yonke is known for his bold use of color and his dedication to the pieces he creates. He grew up painting and submersed within the creative process, but for the last two years, he invested in his career as a full-time artist and is already seeing the rewards. In this short span of time, Joseph has established a name for himself as a rising art star in the United States. He developed a high-profile collector base in and out of the country after completing his first solo exhibition last year in Pittsburgh. His work and journey were also featured in notable publications such as Digital Journal and LA Weekly, Chicago Journal and the New York Weekly. LA Weekly recognized Joseph for his rising fame in the art world and his prominent style. Collectors have him on their radar, many notable names and luminaries in the art world recognize his talent and skills. Joseph is looking forward to sharing his art with more people worldwide.

About the work for the upcoming exhibition, “There was a lot I observed about people and myself over the last couple of years. Over this time, I spent the majority of it alone, which is not a hyperbole, so I analyzed what I am about to expand upon adequately. I considered how I and others interact with the people and general society they reside in. Hence my subject matter of interest solidified to portraits. I considered the complexities of the self and identity through those who have been a part of my life in some capacity, along with frequent introspection.”

“At first, my conclusions often frustrated me, thinking that people, especially in my generation, have a profound proclivity to be disingenuous and superficial, therefore diverging from any real source of human connection we all inherently crave. But besides the negative aspects of people and their tendencies, they are dynamic, beautiful, and extremely complex, vastly impacted by their environments, which is what I attempted to represent visually as these observations alone are so captivating,” stated the artist.

“Being a young person in your twenties is quite an interesting time in life regarding personal development. For example, you begin to analyze the intricacies of your relationships. When I would ponder things such as who truly cared about me, I deliberated the various regards they had towards me. Then a similar process was operated when I observed the utilization of different personalities and filters individuals employ based on who they are interacting with.”

“It seems as though many people today, especially in the younger generation(s), have the proclivity to be filtered. More specifically to this body of work, to visually represent these interests facilitated through a dance with the identity and self, I often incorporate either multiple faces, mouths, or eyes onto a single figure or portrait. If the subject has multiple eyes, they alter how they see a person based on who they are viewing; if mouths, they alter the way they speak depending on who they are speaking to or what they prefer to convey to others; if faces, they interchange their persona also due to the context of their present situation.”

“The backgrounds also play a role in this visual conversation since I attempted to represent how the environment people find themselves in, which tend to be impactful and chaotic, affects people as well. And while this may seem critical, I am not really disparaging it either because self-imposed filters can be warranted. Since what I referred to relates to intimacy, I will also mention that the portraits I paint are distorted for a reason; the reasoning behind the distortion is that it catalyzes the possibilities of the viewer identifying someone they know and therefore can ultimately relate to, hence painting a more broadly identifiable face is my method in doing so,” explained Yonke of his art.

Yonke’s work integrates paint and self-expression while exploring and discovering the self and the unknown, communicating internal human struggles and how they are then projected into the world through visual representation. “I try to reimagine the human face or figure, incorporate its being into its surroundings, and give those surroundings a new life and resemblance,” said the artist.

Joseph R. Yonke‘s solo exhibition opens in the heart of the Wynwood Art District on Saturday, July 29th from 6-11pm at Lelia Mordoch Gallery located at 2300 N. Miami Avenue. Sunday, July 30th by appointment only, please email rabinartgallery@gmail.com. To learn more about this fascinating artist, for sales information, commissions or general inquires, email jryonke@gmail.com / and visit www.yonkeart.com to browse artworks.